England's Justin Rose claimed his first European Tour title with a two-stroke victory in the Dunhill Championship in South Africa on Sunday.

Rose, who was born in South Africa, shot a seven-under par 65 in the final round.

Last year, Rose lost by one shot to Australia's Adam Scott after failing to chip and putt for a birdie from just short of the green at the par-five 18th.

He found himself in a similar position this year but produced a superb chip to set up a birdie and make sure of victory.

"I'm proud of the way I kept it together under pressure," said Rose.

He burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old amateur with a fourth-place finish in the 1997 Open and immediately turned professional.

However, he struggled initially in the pro ranks and missed the cut in his first 21 tournaments on the European Tour before breaking through to the top echelon of the game last year.

"Now those days are a distant memory," said Rose. "I never lost faith in myself and all along I had fantastic support from friends and my extended family.

"A lot of them, including my brother Brendan, still live out here and they were shouting for me out there today."

Rose's father Ken has leukemia and watched his son's win on television in England.

"This win is for my dad more than anybody else," said an emotional Rose.

Leading scores from the final round of the Dunhill Championship (Great Britain unless stated):

268 Justin Rose 71 66 66 65
270 Retief Goosen (SA) 68 67 70 65, Mark Foster 69 67 65 69, Martin Maritz (SA) 72 64 63 71
271 Anthony Wall 68 67 71 65, Mark Mouland 68 69 67 67, Paul McGinley (Ire) 66 71 66 68
272 Sandeep Grewal 70 64 68 70
273 Ernie Els (SA) 68 72 63 70
274 Alan McLean (SA) 71 70 69 64, Roger Wessels (SA) 68 66 69 71
275 Mark Pilkington 68 68 73 66, Jamie Donaldson 67 72 68 68, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 64 70 69, Andrew Coltart 68 69 69 69
276 Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 67 70 73 66, Grant Muller (SA) 69 69 69 69, Richard Bland 73 68 67 68
277 Doug McGuigan 74 67 71 65, Ian Garbutt 70 72 69 66, Darren Fichardt (SA) 73 67 66 71

Back to top