Justin Rose birdies final three holes at Desert Classic

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Justin Rose did what Phil Mickelson’s couldn’t: birdie the final three holes at La Quinta Countrty Club. Rose, the reigning FedExCup champion, birdied Nos. 16-18 to shoot 68 on Thursday. Mickelson needed to birdie all three of those holes to break 60. He came close, making birdies on 16 and 18 to shoot a 12-under 60 and take the Desert Classic’s first-round lead. Both Rose and Mickelson were playing their first round of the calendar year. For Rose, the Desert Classic is his first tournament since signing an equipment deal with Honma. “With the new bag of clubs, I felt really good with them,â€� Rose said. “I drove the ball fantastically well today and hit a lot of shots pin-high with my irons.â€� Rose also has a temporary caddie, Gareth Lord, this week because his longtime looper, Mark Fulcher, had heart surgery Thursday. Rose is making his first start at the Desert Classic since 2010. La Quinta Country Club is the only one of the three courses in use this week that also was being used back when Rose last played here. He is 22 under par in five rounds at La Quinta. He made six birdies and two bogeys Thursday after hitting 9 of 14 fairways and 13 greens. “I felt like I could have been 4- or 5- or 6-under par through the first seven holes. I left a few out there early in my round and (made) a couple silly mistakes here and there, didn’t capitalize on some short birdie putts,â€� Rose said. “ Birdieing my last three to get it to 4 under kind of made me feel good about kind of getting something out of the round.â€� This is Rose’s second start of the season. He finished third in the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in October, his seventh top-three finish in his last 19 TOUR starts. He is 40th in this season’s FedExCup standings as he tries to become the first player to successfully defend the Cup.

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