A blistering final round of 65 took Justin Rose to within two shots of his first European Tour title of the season.

The 22-year-old (pictured) stormed his way through the Open de France field with his seven-under-par score at Le Golf National course in Paris.

His progression up the leaderboard, from tied 23rd at the start of the day to leader in the clubhouse for a three-hour period, was the direct result of the improvement in Rose's form and short game over recent weeks.

Fresh from a week off, opening scores of 68, 69 and 73 left Rose at six-under-par before his last round charge, during which he hit 17 greens in regulation and took 29 putts.

A red-hot putter was evident as he birdied holes two, five, six, seven, 10, 15 and 18 to set the target on 13-under-par.

Rose's score could have been even better had he not three-putted for par at the 552-yard 14th, and left his eagle putt on the 18th just a foot short.

With a congested leaderboard, and holding just a one shot advantage over the chasing pack, Rose then had an anxious wait to see if he would have to contest a play-off.

When asked if he had done enough, Rose said: "I was aiming for 15-under this morning, but then when the wind got up I thought 14-under might be enough.

"So I think I might be a shot light. But who knows? There's a lot of water down the stretch so anything can happen."

Unfortunately for Rose, his analysis came true when David Howell pipped him by one shot after his 69 saw him finish on 14-under-par.

But it was overnight leader Philip Golding who held his nerve to win with a birdie at the 18th.

Forty-year-old Golding, who has been to qualifying school a record 16 times, won his maiden Tour title and the £290,000 first prize - more than he has earned in 10 years as a professional.

Rose ended up sharing third spot with Australian Peter O'Malley.