Click here for Justin Rose factfile

Justin Rose banished the memories of his nightmare start to professional golf with a brilliant victory in the Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Rose, second last year to Australian Adam Scott, went one better by carding a final-round 65 at Houghton Golf Club for a 20-under-par total of 268 and two-shot victory - his first on the European Tour.

England's Mark Foster and South African pair Retief Goosen and Martin Maritz shared second place with Londoner Anthony Wall, winner here in 2000, Ireland's Paul McGinley and Welshman Mark Mouland sharing fifth place a shot further back.

Twenty-year-old Sandeep Grewal, playing in only his second tour event, was another shot back in eighth place after another impressive display which saw him match the 70 scored by playing partner Ernie Els.

The only thing missing from an otherwise perfect day was Rose's father Ken, the major influence on his career, who has to return to hospital in England shortly as he continues his battle with leukaemia.

"I'm delighted with the way I played," said Rose, who enjoyed plenty of family support having been born a few miles down the road in Sandton where most of the players stay during the tournament.

"It's definitely a second home for me; I love coming back. I had my brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends out there - and I'd like to dedicate this win to them because they've supported me no end this week.

"I just wish my mum and dad had been here, and that would have been the full set. I spoke to my mum on the phone, and she was in tears.

"My dad's not so well and he is the guy I owe most to. He's put a lot of time, a lot of hours into my game. This win is for him more than anybody."

Rose shot to fame by finishing fourth in The Open at Royal Birkdale as a 17-year-old amateur but then he missed his first 22 cuts after turning professional the next day.

He needed to make three trips to the qualifying school to keep his card but demonstrated his potential in this event 12 months ago, pipped to the title by Scott's last-hole birdie and suffering a similar fate the following week when Mark McNulty holed from 25 feet for par on the 72nd hole to win the South African Open.

"A few memories did slip in from last year coming down the stretch. I was determined. I kept saying to myself, 'Justin, you're a winner. You're going to win this week. It's your turn'.

"There were a couple of key shots where I was brave and pulled the trigger. I think the bunker shot on the 16th was the main one, a 35-yard bunker shot up a ridge, no green to work with behind the hole. That was the one which will stick in my memory."

Rose began the day four shots off the lead, but made the perfect start with a birdie at the first, and a hat-trick of birdies from the fifth took him into a share of the lead for the first time.

Another birdie on the ninth took Rose into the outright lead only for him to bogey the next hole and fall back into a three-way tie with Foster and Els when the latter birdied the 10th.

The birdies then dried up for the leaders, Goosen suddenly charged into contention with three birdies in a row from the 10th but the European number one had left himself too much to do.

Rose then broke out of the pack with a brilliant approach to four feet on the par-three 15th setting up another birdie - "the best five-iron of my life", he said later - and when another followed on the next after he had splashed out to two feet from a greenside bunker Rose had a two-shot lead with two to play.

Goosen had not given up and birdied the last to get within a shot. But the Englishman responded with another birdie on the last, pitching to within two feet of the hole to move to 20-under-par, the same total as last year.

Foster and Maritz joined Goosen on 18 under - the latter making two eagles in three holes - and needed to eagle the par-five 18th to force a play-off. But both could only manage par, and Rose could celebrate with family and friends.

"I said the other day that my first win would be the one that would stop people talking about Birkdale and remembering me for just that one week," he said.

"I'm still 21. It's January 2002; the whole year's ahead of me now, and it's time to take stock.

"One of my goals was to win before the Benson and Hedges in May, so to do it so early is great. But I've got a lot more that are still on my list, so am I going to focus on those."

Foster, 26, a friend and neighbour of Lee Westwood from Worksop who won the Challenge Tour last year, said: "I could have done with a birdie at the last for outright second but I had to give my eagle chip a run.

"I was a bit disappointed at the 16th and 17th when I left the ball in the jaws.

"But I've put myself in contention and I'm pleased with myself really. It was another good week."

Collated scores and totals in final round of Dunhill Championship, Houghton Golf Club, Johannesburg:

(Gbr&Irl unless stated, Par 72):

(x) denotes amateurs

268 J Rose 71 66 66 65 (£79,000)

270 R Goosen (Rsa) 68 67 70 65, M Foster 69 67 65 69, M Maritz (Rsa) 72 64 63 71 (£38,916)

271 A Wall 68 67 71 65, M Mouland 68 69 67 67, P McGinley 66 71 66 68 (£17,716)

272 S Grewal 70 64 68 70 (£12,300)

273 E Els (Rsa) 68 72 63 70 (£10,800)

274 A McLean 71 70 69 64, R Wessels (Rsa) 68 66 69 71

275 M Pilkington 68 68 73 66, J Donaldson 67 72 68 68, A Atwal (Ind) 72 64 70 69, A Coltart 68 69 69 69

276 JF Remesy (Fra) 67 70 73 66, R Bland 73 68 67 68, G Muller (Rsa) 69 69 69 69

277 D McGuigan 74 67 71 65, I Garbutt 70 72 69 66, D Fichardt (Rsa) 73 67 66 71

278 C Pettersson (Swe) 68 70 74 66, M McNulty (Zim) 73 70 69 66, D Howell 71 69 70 68, J Kingston (Rsa) 67 71 71 69, J Hobday (Rsa) 73 70 66 69, B Dredge 69 72 67 70, A Marshall 69 72 66 71, D Lee 70 68 68 72

279 S Dyson 73 65 73 68, P Eales 73 67 71 68, S Hurd 70 70 70 69, S Dodd 66 71 72 70, W Coetsee (Rsa) 70 69 69 71, C Cevaer (Fra) 70 67 68 74

280 N Dougherty 70 71 72 67, M Roe 67 72 73 68, J Lomas 71 71 70 68, R Muntz (Ned) 71 71 70 68, J Van Zyl (Rsa) 70 69 71 70, A Forsyth 68 72 70 70, G Clark 70 72 68 70, D Gammon (Rsa) 70 71 68 71

281 A Cruse (Rsa) 72 71 70 68, M Olander (Swe) 71 67 73 70, S Daniels (Rsa) 69 71 71 70, M Lafeber (Ned) 69 71 70 71, M Kirk (Rsa) 72 68 70 71, C Hanell (Swe) 71 70 69 71, D Lynn 72 71 66 72, S Walker 70 67 71 73

282 T Clark (Rsa) 69 69 73 71, C Wi (Kor) 74 68 69 71

283 S Scahill (Nzl) 73 69 71 70, G Emerson 70 71 71 71, S Struver (Ger) 69 69 73 72, M Mackenzie 71 66 73 73, P Broadhurst 74 67 68 74

285 S Gallacher 73 69 71 72, M Cort 71 69 72 73, M Gortana (Rsa) 72 71 69 73, D Dixon 71 71 69 74, M Cayeux (Zim) 68 74 68 75

286 D Gilford 69 73 72 72, J Olver (Rsa) 73 69 72 72

287 T Moore (Rsa) 71 71 74 71, D Park 70 73 70 74, G Owen 67 74 70 76

288 D Higgins 72 69 74 73, P Golding 72 71 69 76

291 H Buhrmann (Rsa) 67 74 81 69, B Davison (Rsa) 70 73 77 71

296 J Backstrom (Swe) 73 69 80 74

Rtd: B Davis