GOLF/DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP: It has been a long - well, fairly long - and certainly at times a hard road, but by winning his first tournament as a professional yesterday Justin Rose has finally arrived at the start of what may be called his grown-up career.

After the 21-year-old Rose shot a closing seven-under-par 65 to win the Alfred Dunhill Championship by two shots here, he declared that he hoped this would stop people banging on about Birkdale '98.

It is nearly four years since Rose, then an amateur, famously chipped in at the last hole to finish fourth in the British Open there. Great things were predicted when the 17-year-old turned professional the next day, but he then missed the cut 22 times in a row. He had to go back to qualifying school twice before becoming a genuine contender on the European Tour last year.

"I believed that my first win would be the thing that might stop people talking about Birkdale and remembering me for just that one week," he said. "I wouldn't say that it was the completion of the journey, because I'm still 21 and the whole year's ahead of me now, but I can at least sit down and take stock."

When his head stops spinning, Rose will look back upon a fast start and a nerveless finish as the keys to victory here at the Houghton club. He began four shots behind the overnight leader, Martin Maritz, but a birdie at the first and four more before the turn took him out in 31 strokes.

The South African Maritz struggled to rediscover the inspiration that had seen him shoot 63 on Saturday, and as he dropped three shots on the front nine Rose passed him going in the opposite direction.

The only stutter came at the 10th, where Rose got a firm fairway bounce with a four-iron off the tee that took him deep into the rough. He walked off with a bogey five.

Playing in the two-ball ahead of Rose, Ernie Els made a three at the same hole to join the Englishman at 17 under, and at that stage the vastly experienced local favourite seemed the likely winner. But Els' chances sank when he hit his drive into the water at the 14th where, after dropping out, he could only scramble a double bogey six.

The crowds may have been following Els, but Rose was born no more than 10 miles from Houghton and was not lacking support, though even his watching grandfather and brother must have disbelieved their eyes as he wrapped up the title with the fairytale finish of three birdies in the last four holes.

Rose said he hit "the best five-iron of my life" for a tap-in birdie at the par-three 15th, then finessed a lob wedge from the bunker to two feet for another at the par-five 16th.

Coming down the par-five 18th, he had memories of last year's one-shot defeat by Australia's Adam Scott, but after mis-hitting his drive he got to within 10 feet of the green with his second shot and hit another perfect lob wedge to three feet for the killer birdie.

He was forced to wait for 20 minutes to have victory confirmed, however, as the lead two-ball of Maritz and Nottinghamshire's Mark Foster came to life over the closing holes. Maritz holed his second shot with a five-iron to eagle the 14th, then had three successive threes, including another eagle at the 16th, to get to 18 under par, the same mark as Foster.

Both needed to eagle the last to force a play-off, and Maritz was actually through the green in two. But his putt never threatened and he also missed the next to finish in a tie for second with Foster and South Africa's Retief Goosen.

Rose's victory thoughts were with his absent father, Ken, who is due back in hospital for further treatment for leukaemia.

"My dad's the guy I owe most to. He's put a lot of time, a lot of hours into my game and this win's for him more than anybody."

Paul McGinley fired a steady, bogey-free four-under-par 68 to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place with Anthony Wall and Mark Mouland.