Turkish Delight for England's Rose
Justin Rose carded a five-under-par 66 to beat Lee Westwood by one shot and win the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final.
After beating his Ryder Cup compatriot in the group stage of the invitation-only event, Rose led from start to finish after sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole.
Both players had faultless rounds and didn't concede a single bogey, but Westwood's failure to put together a string of birdie chances cost him dear.
After twin birdies on the par three fifth hole, Westwood tied the match with a birdie at seven, but once again relinquished the lead on the next hole when Rose's superb tee-shot set up an easy birdie.
One up at the turn, Rose extended his lead with another birdie - his fourth of the day - after a fine approach shot handed him a 10-foot putt.
Westwood, who knocked out South Africa's Charl Schwartzel with a brilliant 61 in the semi-finals, wasn't in the same form as on Thursday - his putting in particular letting him down.
He birdied the 16th to close the gap to one shot after Rose missed a putt from three feet out, but was left behind again when Rose sunk a 20-footer on the 17th.
Nevertheless, Westwood boomed an approach shot to within five feet and secured a birdie on the final hole, but Rose kept his nerve and sunk a birdie of his own to win the title.
Much like the day before when he beat Tiger Woods, Rose's barnstorming finish evoked memories of his already famous Ryder Cup singles victory over Phil Mickelson two weeks ago.
"I hit a poor putt on 16 and Lee flipped the script on me," Rose said.
"I thought his ball was in the hazard - it was actually plugged in the rough - and then he makes four and I make five, and from that moment on it's going to be a tight finish.
"He hit a great shot into 17 and I really felt like I needed to make that putt, and the 17th against Phil came to mind, just drawing on positive experiences."
Rose admitted he's feeling very good about his game at present.
"My golf is just so consistent at the moment and the main thing is that I just don't have any skeletons in the closet, and I don't have that loose shot that is plaguing me all the time," he added.
"So all aspects of my game can pull through for me at different times and I feel as though I've got something every day to lean on."
Westwood was disappointed not to walk away with the title, but was still pleased with his showing this week.
"We both played really well, the slight difference was on the greens," Westwood said. "Justin rolled in a couple of 20-footers, one crucial one on 17, and the longest I made was nine feet on 16.
"I left a lot of chances out there but that's the way it goes sometimes.
"I knew before today he was rolling it well on the greens, he showed that against Mickelson at the Ryder Cup. I played him earlier in the week and he shot 66, so I figured I needed something around there.
"I think it's been a great week. Other than the financial rewards it's been good to get back on the course after the Ryder Cup and edge your way back into scoring.
"I think I am 22 under for five rounds so it's a good way to refocus for the rest of the year."
Golf 365