Justin Rose shrugged off the mental straight-jacket that has been adversely affecting his golf to fire a red-hot 63 in the final round of the Canadian Open.

The 24-year-old (pictured above) ended his poor form with an eight-under-par score that equalled his best-ever round as a professional and gave him his highest finish this year.

His low round - the best of the tournament - ensured he finished in fourth place, as he did in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in May.

New world number one Vijay Singh took the title after a three-hole play-off with Canadian home favourite Mike Weir, after the pair had tied at nine-under. Weir found water with his third shot approach to the par-five 18th, and an easy par gave Fijian Singh another title in a prolific 2004.

By contrast, Rose admitted he has been suffering a lengthy "dip in form" he has found hard to get out of, but the young ace was delighted with his 63 and is now looking forward to the final events of his campaign.

The north Hampshire star said: "It's really pumped me up and it's amazing what making a few putts can do. I went out with the goal of just having a great attitude and staying calm and enjoying the round.

"It sounds easy, doesn't it, but it's been the hardest thing for me to do. I haven't been playing well and staying patient after all the work I've been putting in has been very hard.

"That's why my final round at the Deutsche Bank in Germany last week was so important. My 67 (-4) there gave me a lot of positives to take to Canada. I definitely saw it as a building block for the rest of my season."

Rose opened his Canadian event with two scores of 70 (-1), before a 75 (+4), as the fall-out from Hurricane Ivan swept up through north America and affected competition on Friday, meaning Rose had 27 holes to play on Saturday.

Despite the score going backwards, Rose was happy with his driving, which has been awry of late, and the birdie chances he gave himself - all of which bore fruit on Sunday.

He said: "I hit my driver really solidly, which gave me the opportunity to go at the flags. At -5 through nine holes I was pleased that I kept the momentum going through the back nine.

"I didn't get defensive or ahead of myself, which could have been easy to do. My best shot of the day came at 18 where I hit a six iron from 202 yards, with the pin tucked tight to the water, to eight feet.

"I was a bit disappointed not to make the putt for an eagle but the 18th green has been bad to me all week, twice three-putting for par."

He summed up: "Once again though, a great final round gives me lots of encouragement going into next week, and if I can keep out of my own way and let myself play, things are going to start happening."

Rose is competing in the Valero Texas Open while the Ryder Cup is taking place at Oakland Hills. Rose had been hoping for a wild-card pick from European captain Bernhard Langer, but didn't get one. They went to Luke Donald and Colin Montgomerie.

A philosophical Rose said: "Of course I wanted to play, but Luke deserved to be picked because he's been playing better than me. As much as it would be nice to be there, I'm not too disappointed because there will be Ryder Cups in the future I will be part of."