Justin Rose led from the first hole against Lee Westwood, before securing a one-stroke win at the World Golf Final.
Plenty of players claim to be in the form of their life without having the bare statistics, and prize money, to endorse their point. The same cannot be said for Justin Rose, whose victory at the World Golf Final continued a memorable spell and earned the Englishman $1.5m. His second place at last month's Tour Championship earned him a combined $1.6m for that event and a finish of six in the FedEx Cup. For Rose, actions are speaking far louder than words.
His previous two individual events have bestowed the kinds of rewards on the 32-year-old that some professionals can take years to collect. More extravagant fixtures and fittings might just have been ordered for the holiday home Rose is currently building in the Bahamas.
In between times Rose, of course, played a crucial role – by virtue of his singles win over Phil Mickelson – in Europe's Ryder Cup victory over theUSA. Arguably, the Englishman was not quite afforded the credit he deserved for his performance at Medinah.
"I don't have any skeletons in the closet out there," Rose explained. "I don't have a loose shot that's plaguing me all the time. I feel like my game is well rounded at the moment – all aspects can pull through for me at different times.
"It's the same feeling today as leading a 72-hole tournament in strokeplay, being in front of a field and trying to close it out. Exactly the same scenarios run through your head, the same strategy does as well. That's great practice for me in trying to get better and better in winning golf tournaments."
Some others, such as Rory McIlroy, are anxious for an arduous season to end. Rose must wish it was still only March. "I think the Tour Championship sparked the good play, for sure," he added. "I hadn't had a great FedEx Cup play-off until then – it was nice to get in contention.
"I played in the last group every single day at the Tour Championship and that's what I really enjoyed. I kept pace with the field the whole week playing in and around the lead. That was good, prepared me well for the Ryder Cup and obviously I've come off the back of that with just great feelings."
Rose defeated Lee Westwood by just a stroke in the medal matchplay final over Antalya's Sultan Course. Neither player dropped a single shot over 18 holes. He birdied from 20ft on the 17th to hand himself a two-stroke lead over Westwood, which was reduced by the runner-up making birdie at the last. Due to that, Rose had to hole a tetchy 4ft putt before he could properly celebrate.
For Westwood there was the not inconsiderable consolation of a $1m cheque and added confidence from clear improvements in his short game since hiring Tony Johnstone as a coach for that previously troublesome element of his game.
"It's been a great week," Westwood said. "Other than the financial rewards, it has been good to get back on the golf course after the Ryder Cup and to edge my way back into scoring. The defeat is not that difficult to swallow. Justin has beat me by a shot over 18 holes. I've played really well. I would be daft to criticise myself for the way I played today and all week. There is no negative.
"I think I am something like 21-under after five rounds so it is a good way to refocus for the rest of the year. I have five massive tournaments left. If I play well and keep this form up for a couple of weeks in China and in Dubai then I might have a sniff of the order of merit.
"I have only won twice this year so I'd like to win more tournaments before the year is out. I'm pleased with my game and the way things are going. I'm rolling the ball well. I hit some good putts today that didn't go in."
