Italy won the World Cup of golf when they defeated Ireland by one stroke in an exciting finale at the Mission Hills course in Shenzhen, China.

Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell had led all the way through, but were caught on the closing nine holes by the Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari.

McIlroy and McDowell led by three shots on the opening nine of the last round, and seeemd set for victory. However, they were unable to score any more bridies on the back nine and could not withstand the Italian charge. The Swedish team also managed to make up ground and tied the Irish for second.

Francesos Molinair holed three consecutive birdie putts on the back nine to draw even, and Edoardo tapped in at the last hole to give the Italians a famous victory.