Time for Donaldson to relax as he books his Cup spot for Gleneagles

The Welshman held off the challenge of his countryman Bradley Dredge to scoop the £128,000 prize money and qualify via the European list.

The 38-year-old hit six birdies and carded a four-under-par 68 to reverse a two-shot deficit behind Dredge after a third-round 71 saw him slip behind after leading following the first two days at the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague.

At the start of the week he needed £24,000 from the Prague tournament and next week’s Italian Open to ensure he tees off at Gleneagles without fighting a host of other names for qualification from the world points list.

Donaldson was in a strong position to do that anyway and occupied the eighth of nine automatic spots, but his victory in the Czech Republic means he no longer has to worry about Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher breathing down his neck.

“This is big – it’s been an amazing week,” he said. “I needed to play well either this week or next, or both, to guarantee my place in The Ryder Cup team so there was a lot on the line and this week I played really well, so that’s great.”

Donaldson hit three back-to-back birdies to start his round in style and picked up a further shot, with bogeys on the fourth and 17th holes, to nudge him to 14-under overall and past Dredge, who could only manage a par 72 after dropping shots on the third and 17th holes.

The victory is Donaldson’s third European Tour title and he savoured the moment afterwards

“Winning is everything: wins shoot you up world rankings, Race To Dubai, all sorts,” he added. “It’s massive – those three last holes coming in there were really tough, so I’m just happy to seal it.”

Dredge finished one ahead of Soren Kjeldsen and South African Merrick Bremner.

Sheffield’s Danny Willett finished nine shots off the winning total, following up Saturday’s round of 72 with a 68.

Huddersfield’s Chris Hanson impressed by making the cut for the second week running on the European Tour, totalling 288 – 14 shots behind Donaldson.