Martin Kaymer of Germany became the first player to win three times in a row on The European Tour since Tiger Woods four years ago in bitterly cold and windy conditions at St Andrews.
The 25 year old German added the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title to the US PGA Championship he took in a play-off in August and the KLM Open he won in the Netherlands last month. He also added fourth trophy as he will soon receive a replica of the Ryder Cup trophy which he won last week with Team Europe.
But Lee Westwood could not make it a day of double celebration for Europe's Ryder Cup heroes as he needed a top-two finish to replace Woods as World Number One. But struggling again with his leg injury he fell back from fifth to 11th with a final round of 73.
The 37 year old Englishman is pulling out of the Portugal Masters next week and that makes it certain he will topple Woods at the end of this month given the way in which the World Rankings are calculated.
For Kaymer, now the World’s Number Four and almost €1,000,000 clear of Graeme McDowell at the top of The Race to Dubai, winning at St Andrew’s completed a dream week.
Kaymer produced a superb six under par 66 to beat English pair Danny Willett and John Parry - Walker Cup team-mates three years ago - by three and four shots respectively after producing some outstanding golf on the closing holes – including a forty foot putt from left of the 17th green.
After his final drive finished on Granny Clark's Wynd, the road crossing the fairway, he hit his second off the tarmac to six feet and made it for yet another birdie taking the €580,046 first prize with a 17 under par aggregate of 271.
It was his fourth win of the season - and the last person to do that in Europe was also Woods in 2006.
Although he described Monday night's celebrations as one of the best parties of his life - it included karaoke, dancing and table tennis before he retired just before 3am - Kaymer said he had no difficulty getting his focus straight back.
"It was always one of my dreams to win here. I can still remember my first day here as an amateur, walking down the first hole and over the bridge - it felt very special to me.
"If you would have given me a par on 17 I would have given you a lot of money - that was more luck than skill."
Parry led by two overnight and was one in front with nine to play, but he three-putted the 11th and 13th, then went in a gorse bush for a double bogey seven on the next.
Willett has now had 16 top-ten finishes on The European Tour.
Padraig Harrington finished with a final round of 71 for a 6 under par total along with Graeme McDowell who carded a 72.
Roy McIlroy completed the event with a 74 for a one over par total.
Shane Lowry was a shot further adrift on 2 over par after a final round 74 on the Old Course at St Andrew’s.
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