KEY POINTS:
The Rest of the World team, which included New Zealand's Michael Campbell, defied the odds to beat a combined Europe-US side and capture the inaugural Goodwill Trophy in Shanghai overnight.
Holding a one-point lead from the Monday's foursomes, Retief Goosen's side split the singles matches 4-4 to win
6 to 5 1/2 overall.
"We beat a great team and a lot of strong players," said South African Goosen. "We knew it was going to be a close match and it all came down to the final hole in the last match left out on the course."
The clincher for the World team came from Australian veteran Peter Senior, 47, the oldest player on the field, who held off Welshman Bradley Dredge to win the 18th hole.
South Korean K.J. Choi also showed grit to carve out a one-shot victory over Briton Paul Casey on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen.
"We came up just short and are disappointed. But all credit to Retief and his team on winning the inaugural Goodwill Trophy," said losing captain Colin Montgomerie, who beat Goosen in the singles.
In other matches, Swede Henrik Stenson beat Jeev Milkha Singh of India 3 & 2, whilst China's Zhang Lian-Wei faltered against Spaniard Alejandro Canizares, throwing away his one-shot lead at the 15th hole and losing the match by a stroke.
Michael Campbell halved his match against the volatile American Ryder Cup player Chris Di Marco.
The Goodwill Trophy has been developed as a collaborative event between Mission Hills and the Celtic Manor Resort, host of the 2010 Ryder Cup, to enhance trade, tourism and cultural exchange between the UK and China through golf.
Next year's tournament will be held at the Celtic Manor course in Wales.
SCORING
Final score: International Team 6-1/2 defeated Europe-United States 5-1/2.
Individual results (International team names first):
Peter Senior (Australia) bt Bradley Dredge (Wales) one up
Paul Sheehan (Australia) halved with Nick Dougherty (England)
Jeev Milkha Singh (India) lost to Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 3 and 2
MICHAEL CAMPBELL (NZ) halved with Chris DiMarco (US)
K.J. Choi (Korea) bt Paul Casey (England) one up
Retief Goosen (South Africa) lost to Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) one up
Zhang Lian-Wei (China) lost to Alejandro Canizares (Spain) one up
Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) bt Luke Donald (England) 2 and 1
- REUTERS