Rose edges Westwood to win Turkish jackpot

BELEK, Turkey: Justin Rose picked up a $1.5 million paycheck — the biggest of his career — after beating Lee Westwood yesterday to win the eight-player World Golf Final.
The fifth-ranked Rose shot a 5-under 66 to defeat his Ryder Cup teammate and fellow Englishman by one stroke at the Antalya Club.
Rose, who won all five of his matches in the $5.2 million exhibition, birdied the opening hole on the Sultan Course and led the rest of the way against his fourth-ranked opponent.
Westwood birdied the 16th to get back to one behind before Rose sealed the match by holing a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 17th. It was a similar length to the putt he made at the same hole in his Ryder Cup singles victory last month against Phil Mickelson.
On Thursday, Rose chipped in at the 17th to beat Tiger Woods in the semifinals of the $5.2 million event, sponsored by Turkish Airlines.
“The 17th green has been really good to me this week as I holed my second shot there yesterday and, of course, the 17th at Madinahh turned around my match against Phil,” he said. “But you have to be pleased to go through this whole week after winning all my five matches.” The paycheck is Rose’s highest in his 14-year pro career and $560,000 more than his prize in capturing the 2011 BMW Championship.
“To not get beaten at all in the group stage and then to win the two finals is a great feeling and it’s been a great week,” he said. “My golf is just so consistent at the moment and the main thing is that I just don’t have any skeletons in the closet, and I don’t have that loose shot that is plaguing me all the time.” Westwood earned a check for $1 million for his efforts over three days.
“We both played well with just the slight difference on the greens,” Westwood said. “Justin rolled some 20 footers, another crucial one at 17 while the longest putt I made was eight or nine feet on 16. So I left a lot of chances out there but that is the way it goes.” All eight players then participated in a Pro-Am. Turkish Golf President Ahmet Agaoglu was drawn to play alongside Woods.
Agaoglu was at the center of controversy earlier in the week when he allegedly head-butted a journalist while trying to move him away from Woods on the opening tee.
Agaoglu was asked if he was nervous playing with Woods.
“I’m not nervous but what I want to do is make him nervous as I will own him for the next four or five hours,” he said with a smile. “I paid for him to be here in Turkey, so he’s my property this afternoon.” Woods was reportedly paid a $3 million appearance fee to compete in Turkey. He also earned $600,000 as a semifinalist.
Liang takes lead
In Nanshan, China, Liang Wenchong of China fired a 4-under 67 to grab a one-shot lead over Aaron Townsend of Australia after the second round of the China Masters yesterday.
Liang, who shared the opening-round lead with two others, carded two birdies in his first three holes and six overall on the day. He has a two-round total of 7-under 135.
Townsend, meanwhile, is coming off his best finish on the OneAsia Tour this year, a sixth at the High1 Resort Open. He had two birdies in his first five holes and seven altogether to go with two bogeys for a 67.
Four players led by YE Yang of South Korea were joint third and four shots off the lead.
Former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen shot a 1-over 72 and was tied for 17th. The top ranked golfer in China, Liang credited his success this week to switching drivers and improving his fitness. He also has hired a management team that he said has allowed him to concentrate on his game.
“I reached my low point last year, but things are coming back,” Liang said. “I’m 34 years old already, and I now have a good management team to service my needs. Now all I need to do is to try my best to live and practice like a player, that’s all, and wait for the wins to come.” Townsend said his score reflected a course that suited his style.
“It’s what I have been looking for all year, a good strong golf course that plays a bit long,” he said. “It looks like I’ll have some good partners to play with tomorrow, so I’ll go out there and hopefully do the same thing again.” The 2009 US PGA Championship winner, Yang has struggled for much of the year, failing to crack the top 10 on the US tour. But a 3-under 68 on Friday puts him in contention going into the weekend. He finished with five birdies and two bogeys.
“Four strokes behind on this course is a big lead, so with that gap I will have to play more aggressively tomorrow,” Yang said.