Francesco and Edoardo Molinari became the first brothers to win golf’s World Cup as they lifted Italy to a single stroke victory over long-time leaders Ireland and Sweden at Mission Hills on Sunday. It was also the the first time Italy had lifted the prestigious team competition and came after an intense final day battle in China.

The Molinari brothers began the final round alternate shot foursomes just one shot behind overnight leaders Ireland and took charge with three straight birdies on the back nine. But it needed a par-saving bunker shot from Francesco to three feet on the final hole to clinch victory. Edoardo, winner of the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan last week, duly holed the putt for a four-under 68 and a 29-under total of 259 at the $6.5 million tournament.

“It was a very sweet feeling after holing the putt,” Edoardo told gathered reporters. Irish pair Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, who had set the pace on the first day with a blistering 14-under 58 in fourball play, were left to rue a slow start as they dropped a shot on the third.

They hit back with a run of four birdies, but dropped a shot on the par-three 8th and a further bogey on the 10th, where McIlroy missed from just two feet proved costly. McDowell almost holed a birdie on the last to force a playoff but it came up just short. By contrast, consistent Sweden pair Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson did not drop a shot until the eighth on the final day.

The defending champions wound up with a 69 to tie Ireland for second. England pairing Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher charged up the leaderboard on the final day with a 64 to finish three shots back in fourth. Japan ended a further four shots back on a total of 22 under, one clear of Australia. Twenty eight teams contested the tournament on the Jose-Maria Olazabal course in southern China. After Francesco had scrambled from the greenside bunker at the last to secure a par for Italy, McDowell agonisingly missed a birdie chance by inches which would have earned a play-off but capped an error-strewn two under 70.

‘It’s been a great week. Myself and Graeme really enjoyed it especially being in the hunt on the final day was a good feeling. But we weren’t able to pull it off, we both played pretty averagely,’ said world No 10 McIlroy. ‘We shot two under but it could have been a lot better. It was pleasure to play with Graeme and try and win a title with him, it just wasn’t meant to be.’

Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson produced a gallant defence of their title as the Swede’s dropped just one shot all week. Like Ireland, Sweden had a chance at the last but Stenson’s birdie putt rolled around the cup as a final round three-under 69 proved only good enough for a runner-up finish.

‘We had a great week. We played well all week,’ said Stenson. ‘Unfortunately my putter was too cold in the final round, that’s what it comes down to in my book. I had a great putt on the last from 45 feet and it looked in most of the time and went down and came back up again, and that was for the play-off the way it turns out.

‘Obviously there is a little bit of disappointment, but I can’t really hold a 45-foot lip-out on the last responsible. I had plenty of chances and I didn’t take them, so it’s basically down to my putting.’ An impressive bogey-free eight under 64 came too late from Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher as England finished fourth, with Japan fifth ahead of Australia. South Africa, Wales, YE Yang’s Korea, Martin Kaymer’s Germany and USA, who left the best till last with a brilliant bogey-free final round 10-under-par 62 in the traditionally testing alternate shot format, rounded out the top 10.