Sweden’s Henrik Stenson set his sights on an elusive major championship after successfully defending a title for the first time in his career following a thrilling finish to the DP World Tour Championship.

Stenson carded a closing 70 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to finish 16 under par, two shots ahead of world number one Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup team-mates Justin Rose and Victor Dubuisson.

Hampshire’s Rose was ultimately left to rue a slow start to the week – he was four over par after 10 holes of the opening round – and his failure to pick up a shot on the 17th or 18th after a brilliant escape from the trees on the 15th had set up his third birdie in a row.

“All week I was clawing my way back, right from the start on Thursday,” Rose said.

“Today I did everything I needed to do early in my round and made a few poor mistakes in the middle of the round. That was where I struggled.

“But all in all, lots of positives and a good week. It’s a little bit like Shanghai (the BMW Masters) where I had a good chance there as well after a poor start (four over after four holes).

“But at least it tells me I’m playing well and getting myself into contention. It’s never easy to win every time.”