Former Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet dedicated victory to Seve Ballesteros after lifting the Spanish Open trophy in Girona on Sunday.

Levet fought off a succession of challenges to claim his fifth European Tour title - a record for a French player - by two strokes from Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti.

Two shots further back in joint third were Ireland's Peter Lawrie, who had mounted a great bid to make the first successful defence since Max Faulkner in 1953, and Dane Thomas Bjorn.

Ballesteros underwent four operations late last year after the discovery of a brain tumour and is still having chemotherapy.

"I always think about Seve, he is having a hard time at the moment," said 40-year-old Levet, who took the first prize of just under £300,000 with a closing 68 and 18-under-par total of 270.

Then, looking into a television camera, he added: "Seve, I dedicate this win to you."

Asked what he most admired about the former world number one, whose record 50 victories on the circuit included three Spanish Opens, Levet replied: "His fight, and that's what I did today."

He needed to. Two ahead overnight, he found himself two behind after four holes with playing partner Stuart Davis bursting out of the traps - appropriately enough for a man sponsored by the Nottingham greyhound track - with three successive birdies.

Davis, a Tour rookie despite being 35, fell away to 15th place with a 78, but Zanotti, Lawrie and Bjorn then came on strong.

Zanotti, a 25-year-old South American, had never previously posted a top-10 finish on the circuit, but he had nine birdies in a best-of-the-day 65.

It was not enough, though. From one in front with four to play Levet sank an eight-foot putt at the long 15th and then birdied the 460-yard 17th as well.

Collated final round scores & totals in the European Tour Open de Espana, PGA Golf de Catalunya, Girona, Spain

270 Thomas Levet (Fra) 64 67 71 68

272 Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 71 70 66 65

274 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 67 71 66, Peter Lawrie 68 66 71 69

278 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 67 73 69 69

279 Marcel Siem (Ger) 67 70 72 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 70 67 74 68

280 David Horsey 72 70 72 66, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 71 72 66, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 65 73 71 71

281 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 70 70 72, Stephen Dodd 69 69 69 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 63 70 76 72, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 66 75 69 71

282 Stuart Davis 72 65 67 78, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 70 73 72 67

283 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 73 71 70 69, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 70 74 67, Matthew Millar (Aus) 69 75 71 68, David Lynn 69 73 70 71, Paul Broadhurst 70 69 70 74, Ross McGowan 71 71 73 68, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 68 76 67

284 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 69 72 74 69, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 74 68 72, Chris Wood 66 70 79 69, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 75 69 65 75, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 67 69 74 74, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 74 69 72 69, Mark Foster 69 72 70 73

285 Steve Webster 74 68 72 71, Estanislao Goya (Arg) 75 69 67 74, Steven O'Hara 72 72 73 68, John Daly (USA) 70 72 74 69, Robert Rock 73 70 71 71, Marcus Higley 71 69 73 72, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 69 74 68 74, Raul Quiros (Spa) 68 75 70 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 69 71 73 72, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 68 71 73 73, Paul McGinley 70 67 73 75

286 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 68 75 75 68, Gary Orr 68 72 74 72, Sion Bebb 69 71 73 73

287 Pedro Linhart (Spa) 71 69 72 75, Paul Lawrie 68 72 80 67, Pablo Martin (Spa) 68 72 71 76

288 Juan francisco Sarasti (Spa) 73 69 68 78, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 71 71 77 69, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 72 69 73 74, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 71 76 70

289 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 67 78 72, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 71 69 74 75, Jordi Garcia pinto (Spa) 73 71 68 77, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 73 71 71 74, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 74 72 74

290 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 68 74 70 78, James Kamte (Rsa) 73 71 72 74, Miles Tunnicliff 72 70 74 74

291 Iain Pyman 68 76 69 78, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 67 76 73 75, Stephen Gallacher 71 70 78 72, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70 74 76, Graeme Storm 69 71 77 74

292 Gary Murphy 70 74 77 71, Bradley Dredge 72 71 73 76, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 69 74 80 69

293 Callum Macaulay 65 76 76 76, Phillip Price 73 71 72 77

294 Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 70 73 73 78, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 72 72 78 72