Sergio Garcia ends wait for first major with Masters triumph against Justin Rose

Sergio Garcia has ended his long wait for a first career major, winning the 2017 Masters after an enthralling duel with Justin Rose.

On the birthday of his hero and golf icons Seve Ballesteros, Garica saw off Rose in a sudden death in what was the first ever Masters play-off between two European players.

Both men finished nine under par after 72 holes in one of the most gripping finales Augusta has seen. The Spaniard held his nerve to hole a birdie putt after Rose bogeyed.

The Spaniard has regularly challenged for major honours and has remained within touching distance of the top 10 since bursting on to the scene as a prodigious teenager backed to rival Tiger Woods for golfing dominance.

But while he had nine PGA Tour wins to his name, a major triumph has remained out of his grasp. Until today.

Rose and Garcia started the final day tied at the summit of the leaderboard at eight under and after contrasting afternoons on the front nine found themselves deadlocked again.

Garcia birdied on the first and third to take a three-shot lead but Rose was soon right behind him, finding birdies of his own on the sixth, seventh and eighth to close the gap and join his competitor at eight under.

Garcia, no 11 in the world, bogeyed on the par four 10th and again on the 11th. Things were on the brink of turning worse on the 13th when his tee shot found the rough but the Spaniard rallied to recover for a par.

The shot of Garcia's career

He struck back on the 14th, capitalising on a bogey from Rose to move within a shot of the Englishman. On the 15h, Garcia produced perhaps the shot of his career, setting himself up for an exquisite eagle to move ahead. Rose, nerveless, matched him, drawing level at nine under with three holes remaining.

After superb tee shots on the 16th, Rose effortlessly birdied, throwing the gauntlet down once again. The incredible camaraderie between them fuelled the intrigue as the duel continued with Garcia pulling things back and heading into the final hole.

As the contest edged into an excruciating playoff, Rose landed his third shot 10 feet to the right of the hole, pushing his next effort a mere few inches from glory. It left Garcia within two shots of a achieving a career dream - he did it in one.

South Africa's Charl Schwartzel finished the weekend in third place, with Matt Kuchar and Thomas Pieters tied for fourth. England's Paul Casey found six birdies on his way to carding a 68 on the final day, good enough to secure him sixth place.