Rose rolled in a 12-foot birdie on the second playoff hole, the par-4 10th, to beat Simon Dyson (70) of England and Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen (67).

"I knew it was going to come down to No. 10 and, luckily, it was me," Rose said. "I dug deep. There's got to be an easier way."

The three players finished tied at 1-under 283 at Valderrama.

Rose overtook Ernie Els, who had opted to play in Singapore on the Asia Tour this week, to top the European Tour's season-ending money list.

"It's emotional. It was a hard day," Rose said. "It's been a long road to get here, but I feel great."

The 27-year-old Englishman captured the Harry Vardon trophy after topping the money list after only 12 tournaments played, the fewest in the Tour's modern history.

Padraig Harrington — Rose's closest Order of Merit rival — couldn't hole birdie putts at the 17th and 18th that would have pushed him into the playoff. The British Open champion shot 1-over 72 to finish two shots back tied in fourth.