Rose claims his fourth USPGA Tour win in Florida

A two-under final round of 70 proved enough for Justin Rose to win the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the end of a highly eventful day in Miami.

Not even a bogey at the last could prevent Rose from claiming his fourth win on the PGA Tour and the biggest triumph of his career so far, particularly in a Ryder Cup year.

The Englishman capitalised on the collapse of several of his rivals to win by one from Bubba Watson, who saw his overnight three-shot lead evaporate during a disastrous front nine on the Blue Monster course at Doral that took 39 strokes.

The big-hitting American did threaten a late comeback only to miss a birdie putt at the 18th green that would have forced a play-off.

Rory McIlroy had pushed himself into contention by chipping in for an eagle at the par-five 12th, the same hole where Tiger Woods had earlier

“There’s been a lot of hard work going on with my game and just days like this when it all shows up it makes it all worthwhile.”

Rose had played the first three rounds in the company of Watson but was in the penultimate group on Sunday.

“I really enjoyed playing with Bubba for three days. He’s a perfect gentlemen out there, we had a good time, complimenting one another’s good shots and Bubba was fun to play with and the crowd and the enthusiasm he generates is also a fun to be a part of,” said Rose.

“But, you know, going out one group ahead of the leaders is never a bad position to be. You set a number and especially with a hole like this to finish, I knew that that might be an advantage to me.

“I’d obviously like to congratulate Bubba for being the face of this tournament the whole week and obviously the two good shots he hit into 18 had me sweating there in the clubhouse. That was a wonderful effort he made.”

The early, unwanted, headlines in Sunday’s final round were made by Sergio Garcia after the Spaniard racked up an octuple bogey 12.

It came on the 438-yard third after the Spaniard had paid four visits to the water.

Garcia, who had started with an eagle, recovered admirably with a string of birdies but he found water again at 18 and signed for a 76.

He eventually finished tied for 60th alongside Ian Poulter.

Best rounds of the day, seven-under 65s, came from Australian John Senden and Italy’s Francesco Molinari. It lifted them up to tied sixth and tied 13th respectively.