MEMPHIS, Tenn. – TPC Southwind’s 14th hole is an unlikely place to start a rally.

That long, downhill par-3 has water guarding the right side of the green. It is one of the toughest holes on one of the TOUR’s toughest courses. The Sunday hole location was flush against the back-right corner of the putting surface, as well, adding more length to the hole and requiring an extra dose of bravado for those seeking birdie.

Only one player had accomplished the feat before Justin Rose stepped to the tee in Sunday’s final group. He hit a “perfect” 6-iron 15 feet left of the flag, then made the putt for just the second birdie on Sunday’s second-toughest hole. It started the rally that gave the 45-year-old his 12th PGA TOUR victory.

Rose won the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, in a playoff over one of this season’s best players, U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun. And they finished one ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was seeking his fifth win of the year, as well as Tommy Fleetwood, who started the day with a one-stroke lead but saw his pursuit of that first PGA TOUR win continue.

Scheffler had just turned 2 when Rose turned pro in 1998. Twenty-seven years after starting his career, Rose still ranks among the game’s elite. It’s a testament to his relentless drive and refusal to rest on a resume that already includes a FedExCup, major championship and Olympic gold.

“I love his dedication. I really do,” said Fleetwood, Rose’s countryman who played alongside him in Sunday’s final group. “At 45, he's not slowing down at all. He's cracking on. He's still very fit, very healthy, very motivated. I think, yeah, he's a great person in golf to look up to.”

Rose is known as a student of the golf swing, an early adopter of new technology that makes its way to PGA TOUR practice areas. But just as importantly, he remains an intense competitor.

The birdie at 14 was the first of four in a row. Including the playoff, he birdied six of the final eight holes Sunday, with a pair of missed 13-footers providing the only exceptions.

“That's why I practice. That's why I play,” Rose said. “When I bring my best, I know I'm good enough to play and to compete, and to now win against the best players in the world. Very gratifying day for me and a lot of hard work coming to fruition.”

Rose hit a wedge to 9 feet on the 15th, got up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the par-5 16th and then hit another sterling mid-iron on 17 that set up a 23-foot birdie putt.

Rose had an opportunity to win in regulation, but the 13-foot putt that would have given him a fifth consecutive birdie slid by the edge. That proved to be just a momentary blip.

Despite almost driving in the water on the first playoff hole, Rose hit a wedge from a sidehill lie to 13 feet. He missed that putt, as well, but birdied the following two holes. The first one was a 7-footer that answered Spaun’s 30-foot birdie putt, and the next one was a 12-footer that preceded Spaun’s miss from 7 feet.

“That was an amazing last 90 minutes really,” said Rose. “I've always known I've had that. I get nervous with the best of them. I feel nervous at times. But I know when it matters, I've still got it.”

But at his age, and with each trip to the PGA TOUR requiring a transatlantic commute from his home in England, Rose also knows that he has to be selective about how often he attempts to summon his best stuff. That’s why his best results have come mostly in the game’s biggest events.

He was runner-up in last year’s Open Championship after playing a 36-hole qualifier to earn his spot in the field. Then he was runner-up in this year’s Masters, making six birdies in the final eight holes to put pressure on Rory McIlroy, who ultimately prevailed in a playoff.

Both of Rose’s top-10s last year were in majors, a T6 at the PGA Championship and that runner-up at The Open. This year, he’s had top-10s in a pair of Signature Events, a major and now a FedExCup Playoffs event. He also finished sixth at last month’s Genesis Scottish Open.

He called his final-round 63 in Scotland his “cleanest” round of the year, and it was followed by a solid T16 at The Open. A slight posture change paid off, he said, giving him more stability over the ball.

It’s continuing to pay dividends. Rose was eighth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+5.7) this week and hit the second-most greens in the field (50 of 72). He also was seventh in SG: Putting this week.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship represents the start of another crucial stretch in the schedule, and Rose couldn’t have asked for a better start. The 2018 FedExCup champion admitted that missing the last five TOUR Championships has “bugged” him. That streak will come to an end, as he jumped from 25th to fourth in the FedExCup with this win. A seventh Ryder Cup is all but a certainty, as well.

Rose was also expected to return to the top 10 in the world for the first time in five years. He’s the oldest player among that group by nine years.

“I feel excited about where I'm at at 45,” he said, “and I feel like there's a good bit of runway ahead.”

Sunday showed it.