LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Justin Rose dropped his putter, put his hands on his knees and shook his head. Then he managed a smile, knowing just how close he came to tying the PGA Tour scoring record Thursday.
Rose missed a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would have given him a 59 and tied the PGA Tour record set by Al Geiberger in 1977 and tied by Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999).
Rose settled for 12-under 60, a course record and an early lead 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."
He had one. It was pretty much straight, too.
Rose hit a 6 iron from 190 yards on the 454-yard 18th. The ball bounced 6 inches from the hole, rolled past and stopped near the fringe. Rose tipped his hat several times as he walked toward the green and couldn't stop smiling.
He lined up the putt from both sides, took two practice swings, then pulled it just left.
After his initial reaction, the 26-year-old Englishman tapped in for his best round ever on the PGA Tour, three shots better than his previous low set in 2002 at the Deutsche Bank Championship and tied in 2004 at the Canadian Open.
"You never know if you're going to get that putt again," he said.
Rose had other putts that would have made the difference.
He barely missed an 8-footer on No. 13 and a 4-footer on No. 16.
"Right now, I don't feel disappointed," he said. "Maybe the enormity of 59 will hit me and I'll think, 'Well, that was an amazing chance.' ... It was uncharted territory for me."
Rose started his record round with three straight birdies. He got even hotter with six consecutive birdies beginning at the par-5 seventh. At 10 under and heading to No. 13, Rose turned to his caddie and said, "A 59 is on the card here."
Unlike a pitcher working on a no-hitter, Rose felt no superstition as he walked the final six holes and openly discussed his chances with everyone around him.
He needed three birdies over the final holes to make history. He gave himself chances, too, when he nearly hit the flag with shots on the final four holes.
But he missed two good chances and also two-putted each of the par 5s on the Palm Course -- the easiest course on Tour last year by nearly a full stroke.
He joked that maybe next time he won't talk openly about trying to shoot a 59.
"Maybe the curse got me," he said.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
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