Francesco Molinari holds off the challenge of Westwood to win in Shanghai.

Francesco Molinari claimed a stunning wire-to-wire victory with rounds of 65, 70, 67 and 67 ( -19 ) at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International GC in Shanghai, following a titanic battle with World Number One Lee Westwood. The win earned Molinari €860,153 and moved him up to 4th on the Race to Dubai table.

The future looks bright for Italy. Francesco Molinari,is the 3rd Italian to win this year after his brother Edoardo won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and the Johnny Walker Classic at Gleneagles, then teenager Matteo Menassero became the youngest ever European winner when he won the Castello Masters in Valencia, Spain.

Westwood produced a superb display throughout the week to illustrate why he has moved to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings. He hit rounds of 66, 70, 67 and 67 ( -18 ) but came up one shot shy of the great golf played by Molinari, but was 9 shots clear of Luke Donald and Richie Ramsay in joint 3rd place.

Rory McIlroy went to 1 over par after 13 holes of the 3rd round, before fighting back with 4 birdies over the last 5 holes to stay in contention with a 3rd round of 71. McIlroy once again showed his class with a final round of 67 to make his way right through the field to finish in solo 5th place on 8 under par. The prize of €179,199 takes Rory into 13th place on the Race to Dubai table with €1,375,399.

It was another up and down week for Padraig Harrington, when he scored everything from a 2 to a 7 over the 4 rounds. Padraig hit rounds of 70, 70, 70 and 73 for a share of 16th on 5 under par. He made an eagle 3 at the 18th in round two, then when struggling in the 3rd round, he holed his 2nd shot for an albatross at the 594 yard 14th hole. In the final round he made a birdie 2 at the 17th to reach 7 under par, only to find water at the 18th for a double bogey 7.

Graeme McDowell never got to grips with the course until the final round. He had 74, 71, 73, and a 69 for a share of 34th place on 1 under par.