And despite dropping a shot at the 11th, he hit two more birdies at the long 12th and the 14th and then parred in from there, sinking a 10-footer on the final green.

Jacobson said: "I'm delighted - it's just taken a bit longer than I was hoping for. I've been close so many times before that it's a big relief.

"When you finish second six times, you wonder if forever you're going to be a runner-up. It feels nice to prove that I can win golf tournaments."

Argentine Berendt hit a 67 to finish on 14 under, joint second with Nystrom who finished with three straight birdies.

Welshman Dodd saw his chances of a first title effectively disappear when he missed an 18-inch putt on the 15th.

He had to settle for joint third with Gary Orr and Soren Kjeldsen.

Six-time Major champion Nick Faldo, who had been just four behind going into the final day, made a late charge, with birdies at the 15th and 16th.

But the 45-year-old hit a double bogey at the last and finished on 10 under alongside a group that included English compatriots Matthew Blackey and Jamie Spence.

Final scores:

260 Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 68 65 63 64
262 Jorge Berendt (Arg) 68 65 62 67, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 64 68 63 67
263 Stephen Dodd 64 65 66 68, Gary Orr 67 66 63 67, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 65 70 63 65
264 Tony Johnstone (Zim) 64 65 67 68
265 Craig Kamps (Rsa) 68 63 66 68, Thomas Levet (Fra) 65 65 69 66, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 67 62 69 67
266 Boonchu Ruangkit (Tha) 65 69 62 70, Arjun Singh (Ind) 65 66 65 70, Jamie Spence 68 65 64 69, Matthew Blackey 66 67 65 68, Nick Faldo 68 65 66 67, Marten Olander (Swe) 65 64 70 67, Nicolas Colsearts (Bel) 68 64 69 65, Rick Gibson (Can) 67 65 68 66