A day after defeating Tiger Woods in his semifinal match, Justin Rose fired a 5-under 66 to defeat fellow Englishman Lee Westwood and win the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final.
Rose completed his week without a blemish, having won matches in group stage over Westwood, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson before Thursday’s semifinal win against Woods. The $1.5 million winner’s check is the largest single payday of his career.
‘To not get beaten at all in the group stage and then to win the two finals is a great feeling,’ said Rose, who birdied the opening hole and never trailed Friday. ‘It’s been a great week.’
The final match included good play on both sides, as neither player recorded a bogey during their round on the Sultan Course. Westwood’s birdie on the 16th trimmed his deficit to a single shot, but Rose essentially sealed the match with a 20-foot birdie putt on 17, a hole that continued to pay dividends for him.
‘The 17th green has been really good to me this week,’ said Rose, whose chip-in on the penultimate hole helped to clinch his semifinal match with Woods.
A day after a sizzling 61 in his semifinal match with Charl Schwartzel, Westwood’s bogey-free 67 came up just short on Friday.
‘We both played well with just the slight difference on the greens,’ said Westwood, who pockets $1 million for his runner-up finish. ‘I left a lot of chances out there but that is the way it goes.’