Justin Rose of Great Britain has won the gold medal in men's golf, the first one awarded since 1904 in St. Louis. Rose hit a pitch shot to three feet for birdie on the 18th hole for a 4-under 67 and a two-shot victory over British Open champion Henrik Stenson.

Rio-time updates: follow the action with our daily live blog

It capped off a week of bustling crowds and the ideal finish for a sport trying to make a good impression. Rose had made history as the first player in history to record a hole-in-one at the Olympic Games in the first round of the men's tournament at the Olympic Golf Course.

The Englishman was was one under par when he came to the par three fourth and hit a tee shot which flew 191 yards to land in the hole. 

Best of British: Justin Rose flies the flag for golf at the Olympics for the first time since 1904 (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

As the final putt fell into the cup, 36-year-old Rose thrust his fist into the air before turning to embrace Stenson.

Stenson already made it through one big duel this summer at Royal Troon to win the British Open. Along the back nine, the 40-year-old Swede's back began to act up, and Stenson had a physiotherapist work on it on the 14th hole.

"I had a bit of an issue, my thoracic spine kind of locked up completely after 13 holes. I had to have some treatment and it kind of put me out of rhythm a little bit." Stenson kept firing away, however, hitting a tough pitch to four feet for birdie on the 16th to tie for the lead.

They remained tied playing the 18th, with fans lining both sides of the fairway and crammed into the grandstands. Stenson's pitch from 50 yards came up short, just over 20 feet away. Knowing that Rose was tight for birdie, Stenson rammed his birdie putt some seven feet by the cup and missed the par putt, giving him a 3-under 68.

Rio 2016 men's individual stroke play results

The bogey wasn't enough to take the silver away from Stenson. Matt Kuchar of the United States, starting the final round seven shots out of the lead, provided his own thrills. Kuchar went 6 under during a six-hole stretch that he capped off with a 15-foot eagle on the 10th hole to get him in the mix, and his wedge to 2 feet for birdie on the 17th put him one shot behind.

He failed to birdie the 18th, however, and his 63 was good enough for the bronze. "I can't explain the pride to you that's just busting out of my chest," Kuchar said.

Rose is the first gold medallist in golf since George Lyon of Canada won against a field of mostly Americans. Golf organisations lobbied hard to get the sport back into the Olympics, only for some of the biggest stars — including the top four in the world — to withdraw in the month leading up to the Rio Games for reasons that ranged from fears over the Zika virus to security.

Rose the Olympic champion

Asked whether he believed he could win at the start of the week, Rose said: "I knew it was a possibility but there were so many great players. I came here in good form, I felt excited about competing. And then when I actually got down to Rio and experienced the whole vibe of the Olympics I have just been really excited."

Gong show: Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar display their medals (Ross Kinnaird/ Getty Images)

The lasting memory of its debut was Rose and Stenson going at it for more than five hours, neither with more than a one-stroke advantage the entire round. And there was Rose at the end, pumping his fists as the fans waved the Union Flag around the 18th green.

"Olympic champion? That has a cool ring to it. The medal ceremony was surreal. I've watched many on TV. I never thought I'd be involved in one. Honestly this is just a dream come true, I have been thinking about Rio for a long, long time. It is just crazy, just so good."

Olympic Games tickets are available to buy