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The clubs Justin Rose used to win the WGC-HSBC Champions
Ross Kinnaird
Justin Rose made up eight shots on Dustin Johnson to win the WGC-HSBC Champions, matching the third-largest final-round comeback in PGA Tour history. Rose completed the rally with a final-nine 31 featuring five birdies, including a key 5-iron tee shot on the par-3 17th hole that finished within tap-in distance for a crucial birdie.
“We were playing into what we felt was like a 10-mile-an-hour wind, or what we gauged to be a 10-mile-an-hour wind, and it just fit perfectly for our 5-iron,” said Rose. “I knew I had to hit a 5-iron that climbed up into the breeze. It wasn't a 5-iron I was trying to trap. I was trying to let the wind hold it up.”
That shot was hit with a TaylorMade P730 Rose prototype iron, a muscleback blade model that has been employed by other TaylorMade staffers, including Rory McIlroy and Johnson. Rose’s fine play over the final nine allowed him to finish T-3 in greens in regulation for the week.
Rose also made a putter change, switching to the company's TP Ardmore 2 Red, a mallet-style putter with "wings" in the back to add stability. The putter features a 6061 aluminum version of TaylorMade’s grooved face insert with the combination of the grooves’ 45-degree angle and polymer filling work to improve roll and feel.
“I played one of the best back nines I've played in forever,” Rose said. "To shoot 31 on the back to come through, [I] saved my best till last.”
The clubs Justin Rose had in the bag at the WGC-HSBC Championship
Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Driver: TaylorMade M1 460 2017, 9.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade M2, 15 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade M1, 19 degrees
Irons (4): TaylorMade P790; (5-PW): TaylorMade P730 Rose prototype
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52, 56, 60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade TP Ardmore 2 Red