Sunday 19 November 2017 16:14, UK
Justin Rose hailed Tommy Fleetwood as a deserving Race to Dubai champion after his bid to end the season as European No 1 came unstuck over the final seven holes of the DP World Tour Championship.
Rose was a strong favourite to overhaul Fleetwood at the top of the standings when he cruised to the turn in 32 and led the tournament outright, but a mistake at the 12th triggered a late collapse which gifted the advantage back to his English rival.
With Fleetwood facing an anxious wait in the clubhouse after stuttering to a closing 74 which saw him slip into a tie for 21st on 11 under, Rose pushed his second into water at the 14th and missed a short par putt at 16 to leave him needing a big finish to deny Fleetwood the Harry Vardon Trophy.
Rose almost holed his bunker escape for an unlikely birdie at the 17th, and his long-range eagle attempt at the last drifted left of the hole as he signed for a 70 and finished in a four-way share of fourth place - two strokes behind Jon Rahm.
"I did hit the wall a bit today," said Rose, who was a lowly 10th in the Race to Dubai standings until piling the pressure on Fleetwood with victories at the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Turkish Airlines Open.
"My front nine was beautiful. I was playing great golf and I felt in complete control, but the bogey at 12 seemed to slow all the momentum. From that point it was a bit of a grind.
"I just feel I went a bit flat around the turn. I had opportunities around 10 and 11 and didn't take those, and I got a little bit out of my routine and a little distracted, hit a poor shot on the par-five and then it was a struggle from there on in. The shots on 13 and 14 were the undoing.
"The other guys seemed to do what they needed to do down the stretch, and I knew Jon was going to be a danger today in terms of the Race to Dubai.
"But I'm pleased for Tommy. He's battled hard all year and put a good week in South Africa last week and had a great couple of comeback rounds this week to fight back and deserve it. He's been leading all year and it's good for him to finish it off."
