Rose Just Misses Putt for 59

Justin Rose dropped his putter, put his hands on his knees and dropped his head. He paused, looked up and managed a wry smile, knowing just how close he came to shooting a 59 on Thursday.

Rose missed a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 18, leaving him a stroke away from matching the PGA Tour record shared by Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999). The 26-year-old Englishman settled for a 12-under-par 60, course and tournament records, and a four-stroke lead Thursday in the Funai Classic at Disney.

“I did everything right to shoot 59,” Rose said. “All I wanted to do was have a putt at 59.”

Rose hit a six-iron from 190 yards on the 433-yard 18th. The ball bounced six inches from the hole and rolled near the fringe. He lined up the putt from both sides, took two practice swings, then pulled it just left.

“You never know if you’re going to get that putt again,” he said.

Richard Johnson was alone in second place, four shots back. Tag Ridings, Steve Flesch, Bob Tway, Charles Howell III and J.J. Henry were five strokes behind Rose.