Donald, who blew the BMW PGA Championship by taking a double bogey seven on the penultimate hole, this time grabbed a brilliant eagle to settle his duel with Welshman Rhys Davies.

Level with three to play the 32-year-old hit a 252-yard fairway wood to 12 feet on the long 16th and with his third eagle of the week – “it’s because I’m a big-hitter” he joked – struck the decisive blow.

Davies, already a winner in this his first full season on the European Tour, birdied the hole and still had a chance to force sudden death, but his 20-foot effort on the last was never on the right line.

Italian Francesco Molinari had also eagled the 16th to be in the joint lead, but that was before Donald and Davies played the hole and he finished third on 18 under.

A further shot back in fourth was Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, whose 65 was one outside the course record equalled earlier in the day by Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara.

The victory lifts Donald from 13th to ninth in the world – and to fourth place in the Ryder Cup points race, knocking Padraig Harrington out of the top nine who will earn automatic spots at the end of August.

His last victory was the Honda Classic in America in March 2006 and his last in Europe came in Switzerland in September 2004.

Donald won with a closing 67 to Davies’s 68 and with a 21 under par total of 267. It earned him £214,242, but he said: “The money is secondary.

“It’s been a while since I won and to put last week behind me makes me very proud.

“The way I played today means a lot to me. The eagle was huge because Rhys put a lot of pressure on me.

“It’s happiness and relief – definitely some relief.”

After last year's Open, where he came fifth, an American writer coined the term "Luke Donald Disease'', pointing to him as the perfect example of a bunch of British players who earn a lot but do not win very often.

“It was a bad article – it’s wrong,” commented Donald. “I don’t listen to my critics too much, but it was frustrating for myself not having won for four years.”

He can now point to the fact that England has as many players in the top 10 - himself, Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey – as America does.

And there is also Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy there too.

Davies, 25 last Friday, would have leapt into the top 50 with victory, but he is climbing fast and he will hope to go one better at this coming week’s Wales Open at Celtic Manor.

“I didn’t make a bogey in the final group in a big tournament,” Davies said. “It didn’t quite come off, but I’ve got lots to be pleased about.

“I was chasing the win and I just came up short unfortunately. On the 16th I thought I might keep the momentum (he had just birdied the 15th to level), but he threw in an eagle to be fair to him.”