Rose triumphs in Turkey

Englishman Justin Rose has prevailed at the inaugural Turkish Airlines World Golf Final after defeating Lee Westwood in the final of the medal matchplay event

Ryder Cup star Justin Rose shot a flawless 66 to defeat compatriot Lee Westwood in the final of the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final and secure his second individual victory of the season.

Both were in fine form at the Antalya Golf Club, with neither player carding a bogey, but it was Westwood's inability to convert a string of good birdie chances that was the difference between the pair.

It wasn't the final the sponsors were hoping for, with a lacklustre Rory McIlroy crashing out in the group stages and Tiger Woods disposed of by Rose in the semi-final, but the Turkish fans were nonetheless treated to a brilliant display from the world number four and five.

Rose - who had already beaten Westwood in the group stages - made a fast start by holing a 20-footer for a birdie on the first hole in the medal matchplay format.

Both players made fours at the par-3 5th hole, but Westwood - who shot a stunning 61 in the semi-final to defeat 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel - caught Rose after a two-putt birdie at the par-5 7th.

The WGC-Cadillac champion responded on the next hole, though, holing an eight-footer for birdie before adding another at the par-4 10th to stretch his lead to two.

Westwood had numerous chances to close the gap on the back nine, but his poor putting - highlighted by a miss from inside three feet at 13 - ultimately put paid to his chances.

Rose himself missed a tidier at 16 to loose his two-shot lead, but he made amends by holing from 20 feet at 17 with his playing partner comfortably inside him.

Westwood missed, leaving him requiring a small miracle up the last to salvage any hope of taking home the $1.5m winner's cheque.

To his credit, he knocked his approach to five feet and holed the putt to record a four-under-par 67, but Rose made no mistake from three feet to card a 66 and win the final by one shot.

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x