Tommy Fleetwood had just enough gas left in the tank to get over the line in the Race to Dubai, as man rival Justin Rose suddenly stalled with the chequered flag in sight.
Long-time leader Fleetwood feared the worst when he dropped out of the top twenty in the DP World Tour Championship, with third round leader Rose still out in front with seven holes to play.
But after showing incredible skill and composure to win his last two tournaments, world No 6 Rose crumbled under the pressure.
After going 29 holes without a bogey he dropped three shots in the space of five holes - and with Jon Rahm charging to victory Rose needed to eagle the last to finish in a three-way tie for second, and push Fleetwood off the top of the rankings.
But after finding the rough with his drive he could only hammer a three wood to the front of the green, and his ninety footer for eagle never looked like finding the hole.
A two under par 70 left him in a share of fourth on 17 under par two behind Rahm - and Rose, 37, looked even more heartbroken than he did when he was edged out by Sergio Garcia in a play-off at the Masters
Fleetwood, 26, was watching the drama unfold with in the scorers hut with fiance Clare Crag, and their six week old son Franklin. He was still not aware he had finished as European No 1 when Roses first putt sailed by.
In a year when both men finished with more than four million points with one point for each euro banked the winning margin was a mere 58,821 points.
When Fleetwood was presented with a bonus cheque for just under 1million - and the Harry Vardon Trophy as the Race to Dubai champion - it must have felt more like the Tommy Hard-won Trophy.
He said: I dont trust computers, so it took a while to accept Id won. Ive said it before, but its hard to believe the turnaround from a 15months ago. I was afraid of embarrassing myself I was scared I wouldnt be able to get it off the tee.
All the hard work has obviously paid off. Ive won twice and had two seconds, including one in a World Golf Championship event and even though I didnt play my best stuff here Ive been pretty consistent over the year.
The two guys who finished behind me Justin and Jon - are both in the worlds top six and the Master champion finished fourth, so when I look back, it will probably seem like an even better year than it does now.
Rose was the first to congratulate Fleetwood, who looks certain to join him in the European team at next year's Ryder Cup.
He said: I guess I just hit the wall a bit after playing a beautiful front nine. My first bogey at 12 seemed to throw all the momentum off, and obviously it was very disappointing to finish like that.
Its tough to come up just one shot short. But congratulations to Tommy. Hes been leading for most of the year, and hes battled really hard these past few weeks. He deserved to finish it off.