Justin Rose wins golf gold for Team GB

Justin Rose has won gold in golf, becoming the sport’s first Olympic champion since 1904, by seeing off Henrik Stenson in a close-fought final.

The GB golfer had already made history by hitting Olympic golf’s first hole-in-one, but he required all of his nerve as his opponent ate into his early advantage and threatened a play-off for the gold.

Rose and Stenson were level on 15 under par after 17 holes, so it all came down to hole 18. The Swedish player bogeyed the last hole, while Rose produced a birdie to win by two shots.

The GB golfer hit a four-under-par 67 to win on 16 under, and Stenson took silver with a 68. The bronze went to the US’ Matt Kuchar, who produced 63 on 13 under – he was named to the US team only after Jordan Spieth withdrew due to concerns over the Zika virus.

After the event, Rose said: “That felt better than anything I’ve ever won. It was the best tournament I’ve ever done. Hopefully we’ve shown Brazil what golf is about. I’m glad it was close. Not for my nerves, for golf.

“It’s a dream come true. I’ve been thinking about Rio for a long, long time. I’ve been dreaming about coming here for a few years now. I was hoping my ranking would allow me to compete in the Olympic Games.

“I came here in good form and I felt excited about competing, excited about giving it 100%. Then when I actually got down to Rio and experienced the whole vibe of the Olympics, to come out of it with a medal is incredible. To come out of it with gold, unbelievable.”

Stenson said: “I didn’t make the best swings there for a little while but it wasn’t hindering me too much. But it’s not something you plan to have worked on out on the course. It did kind of put me out of rhythm a little bit, but I was still there till the end. It was just down to whoever made a birdie on the last, otherwise we would have been out for a play-off.”