Sergio Garcia dedicated his first European Tour win since 2005 to Seve Ballesteros after victory in the Castellon Masters on the course he played as a boy.

The 28-year-old, hosting the inaugural event at the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo where his father is still the host professional, closed with a four-under-par 67 to finish three shots ahead of Sweden's Peter Hedblom, who signed for a 66, and five clear of Alexander Noren (65).

Ballesteros, 51, is seriously ill in hospital following three operations on a brain tumour.

"I couldn't help but think about Seve," said Garcia. "I'm sending all my love to him and his family and hope he recovers soon.

"I hope this victory helps him to get a little better."

Having taken a four-shot lead into the final round after scores of 66, 65 and 66, Garcia held off the strong challenge of Hedblom, the only player who threatened to spoil the fairytale story when he opened today with four successive birdies.

But he never got ahead of Garcia, who used his knowledge of every nook and cranny of the course to complete a memorable victory and move up to third in the world rankings.

English duo David Lynn and Simon Dyson were tied for second overnight alongside Hedblom and Soren Kjeldsen, but failed to close the gap and ended up joint fourth after rounds of 69.

"It feels absolutely awesome," said Garcia. "I didn't play amazing and when Peter had such a great start I thought these guys were not making it easy for me.

"On the back nine I felt I had it under control and had a lot of chances and putts but didn't make that many.

"It just feels very special and means so much. Just getting the tournament here was special for me and my family but to play the way I did and win it is awesome."

Garcia birdied the first hole to move to 17 under overall but Hedblom did the same to keep him in his sights, and then reined the Spaniard back in with three more birdies to narrow the gap to just one shot.

At the par-three sixth, Garcia missed the green from the tee and had a tricky chip which he failed to get up and down, while Hedblom sank a simple putt for par to draw level on 16 under.

Garcia immediately responded by picking up a shot at the seventh, holing a putt from eight feet following an excellent approach shot to regain the outright lead, and extended that advantage with a birdie on the eighth.

Both players birdied the 13th and 16th and when Hedblom bogeyed the 17th to fall three shots behind, it was all but over.

There was also drama as two players battled for 118th place on the Order of Merit to retain their card for next season.

With 118th-placed Patrick Sjoland failing to make the cut, Garry Houston needed just under £8,800 to keep his card but finishing two under overall left him short.

Francois Delamontagne was eventually the lucky man, scraping in by about £240 despite carding a three-over 74.

Collated final-round scores (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):

264 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 65 66 67

267 Peter Hedblom (Swe) 68 65 68 66

269 Alexander Noren (Swe) 68 68 68 65

270 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 64 67 70 69, David Lynn 67 66 68 69, Simon Dyson 66 67 68 69

271 Peter Hanson (Swe) 65 73 67 66, Richard Finch 65 66 71 69

272 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 67 68 68 69, Paul Casey 69 67 69 67, Rory McIlroy 68 67 69 68, Stephen Gallacher 67 70 65 70

273 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 66 69 67, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 67 66 76 64

274 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 66 72 67 69, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 66 71 69 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 65 70 69 70, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 65 72 69 68, Sam Little 72 69 66 67

275 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 69 67 67 72, Phillip Archer 67 68 70 70, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 66 69 70, Thomas Levet (Fra) 66 68 73 68

276 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 71 67 68 70, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 70 68 67 71, Gary Orr 70 67 69 70, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 69 68 68 71, Camilo Villegas (Col) 70 66 71 69

277 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 70 70 67 70, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 72 65 70 70, Chris Wood 68 72 69 68, Nick Dougherty 68 69 72 68, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 69 68 68 72

278 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 69 67 71, Justin Rose 67 70 70 71, Jean Van de velde (Fra) 68 70 68 72, John Bickerton 66 70 73 69, Mark Foster 72 70 68 68, Bradley Dredge 71 68 68 71

279 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 68 69 70, David Griffiths 67 71 70 71, Paul Lawrie 71 70 71 67, Alastair Forsyth 68 70 73 68, Markus Brier (Aut) 74 67 76 62, Stuart Manley 69 68 73 69, Ross McGowan 72 69 70 68

280 Anthony Wall 71 69 67 73, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 66 67 73 74, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 69 71 69, Barry Lane 71 69 72 68

281 Pedro Linhart (Spa) 68 72 70 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 68 70 67 76, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 68 71 71

282 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 71 68 70 73, Garry Houston 67 71 71 73, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 73 69 71 69, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 67 71 73 71

283 David Howell 69 73 72 69, Benn Barham 68 72 75 68, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 73 71 70, Simon Wakefield 72 68 73 70, Johan Edfors (Swe) 70 71 72 70

285 Lee Slattery 71 71 69 74, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 72 70 73 70

287 Peter O'Malley (Aus) 72 70 75 70

293 Pelle Edberg (Swe) 70 72 74 77