Powerful young Spaniard Alvaro Quiros proved there is more to his game than just booming drives as he produced a three-shot victory at the Oceanico Portuguese Masters.
The 25-year-old from Cadiz showed he has strength of character to go with his power as he held off a determined challenge from European Money List leader Robert Karlsson and England's Ross Fisher.
And he clinched the Ј395,000 first prize - the biggest of his career - in some style, calmly sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th green at the Victoria Club in Vilamoura to complete a final-round four-under-par 68 for a 19-under total.
Karlsson, who had been hot favourite to clinch his third successive Tour victory after wins in the German Masters and the Dunhill Links Championship, eventually had to settle for a share of third place after a series of mistakes.
Instead, the runners-up spot went to Scotland's Paul Lawrie, who produced his best tournament finish for three years.
The 1999 Open champion had previously only managed one top-10 finish this year but after signing for a final-round 67, he sounded very relieved, saying "It feels great to be competitive again."
But at the end of a week when all Spanish golfing attention has been devoted to the failing health of golfing legend Seve Ballesteros, the emergence of another exciting young star from that country will be welcomed.
Quiros sign-posted his ability with his victory in the 2007 Dunhill Championship in South Africa but that field could not compare to the one in Vilamoura, which contained six members of the recent European Ryder Cup team.
But it is not only his length that will attract golf fans across Europe but his engaging sense of humour, which was evident from the first tee when he starting cracking jokes with his two playing partners.
He had to get up early to complete his third round after a thunderstorm forced play to be abandoned early on Saturday night. And in completing five holes he moved one shot ahead of the field.
It was an advantage he did not hold onto for long when, after outrageously birdieing the opening hole with a 50-foot putt, he immediately bogeyed the second. It was the start of an afternoon when the lead was to change hands regularly.
A birdie at the second took Fisher to the top of the leaderboard and after an early dropped shot, Karlsson then produced three birdies on the trot.
But the tournament was finally sorted on the back nine as Fisher dropped back with a run of three successive bogeys and Karlsson found water at the 17th.
The Swede now only leads Padraig Harrington by around Ј246,000 in the money list heading for the Volvo Masters, when victory for Karlsson would have almost certainly settled the Order of Merit title.
For Quiros there is now a place in the Tournament of Champions in Shanghai, and throughout his round Ballesteros was never far from his thoughts.
"My caddy told me that Seve always wanted to beat everybody and today I drew inspiration from thinking about the way he played his golf," said Quiros.
The lowest score of the final day belonged to Bristol's Chris Wood, who as an amateur finished tied for fifth place to take the Silver Medal in this year's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Having turned pro immediately after that achievement, and this weekend playing in the last of his permitted seven invitations, Wood's 65 produced his first top-10 finish in the paid ranks. However, it left him with a dilemma.
He is now scheduled to attend the second stage of Q School at Jerez in Spain, working towards earning a Tour card for 2009, but his top-10 placing has also earned him the right to play in the coming week's Castellon Masters near Gerona.
The two events run back-to-back and after playing seven of the last nine weeks, his energy levels are running low.
"Q School and getting my card for next year has to be my priority," said Wood. "So I may not go to the Castellon."
Collated final-round scores (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):
269 Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 66 68 67 68
272 Paul Lawrie 70 65 70 67
273 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 69 67 66 71, Steve Webster 72 67 66 68, Ross Fisher 67 70 65 71
274 James Kingston (Rsa) 69 71 64 70
275 Soren Hansen (Den) 73 65 65 72, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 67 68 71, Simon Dyson 71 69 67 68
276 Anthony Wall 72 66 70 68, Rory McIlroy 69 69 69 69, Chris Wood 73 70 68 65
277 Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 67 75 66 69
278 Stuart Manley 65 68 73 72, David Lynn 70 69 68 71
279 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 68 67 73, Alexander Noren (Swe) 71 69 67 72, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 67 74 72 66, Lee Westwood 72 67 72 68, Bradley Dredge 70 70 67 72
280 Sam Walker 67 73 69 71, Garry Houston 73 66 73 68
281 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 68 68 72 73, Gary Orr 74 68 68 71, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 67 73 73 68, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 73 69 66 73, Mark Foster 66 71 73 71, Peter Lawrie 72 69 71 69, Darren Clarke 72 69 74 66
282 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 69 66 72 75, Marc Warren 68 73 70 71, Paul Waring 71 71 68 72, David Howell 74 70 67 71, David Dixon 72 69 72 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 67 69 73 73, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 72 65 73 72, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 66 70 74 72
283 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 72 72 71 68, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 73 71 69 70, Jamie Donaldson 69 70 74 70, Oliver Fisher 73 71 71 68
284 Graeme McDowell 67 74 73 70, Richard Green (Aus) 71 69 72 72, Phillip Price 69 70 74 71
285 Peter Hanson (Swe) 73 69 70 73, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 69 72 72 72, Johan Edfors (Swe) 70 71 72 72
286 Stephen Gallacher 69 71 72 74, Gary Murphy 69 74 68 75, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 72 70 72 72, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 74 68 73 71, John Bickerton 71 73 69 73
287 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 72 72 69 74, Robert Rock 72 72 72 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 71 73 73 70
288 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 70 73 73 72, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 73 71 73 71, David Frost (Rsa) 69 72 73 74
290 Marcel Siem (Ger) 68 71 73 78, Antonio Sobrinho (Por) 70 73 73 74, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 71 71 77
291 Rafael Echenique (Arg) 72 71 71 77
292 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 73 71 74 74, Nick Dougherty 70 70 73 79
293 Sion Bebb 68 74 72 79, Robert Dinwiddie 72 68 72 81, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 73 69 74 77
295 Graeme Storm 69 69 72 85
297 Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 72 69 73 83, Barry Lane 68 70 78 81
KARLSSON CLIMBS TO EIGHTH
SUCCESSIVE WINS FOR KARLSSON
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