BRITAIN’S Justin Rose outdueled Sweden’s Henrik Stenson in a tension-packed Rio final-round thriller Sunday to capture the first Olympic golf title in 112 years and was in the midst of a dream made real while on the podium.

    “That was a really surreal moment,” Rose said. “It’s a moment we’ve seen in other sports. It felt very different to any other tournament.”

    An event dimmed by the decisions of more than 20 players to stay away, including world number one Jason Day of Australia and the entire world top four, provided plenty of excitement and spectacular shotmaking as the gold hung on a knife’s edge all day.

    “It felt like a cross between a golf tournament and a carnival,” Rose said.

    A sellout crowd of 12,000 included people wanting to take photographs, a golf no-no, and anxious to pick up the ball until instructed to leave it be.

    “This is just a dream come true. To come out of it with a medal is incredible. To come out of it with gold is unbelievable.

    “Hopefully we’ve shown Brazil what golf is about,” Rose said.

    (SD-Agencies)