Søren Kjeldsen completed a wire-to-wire victory in the last ever Volvo Masters after a final round 71 as Robert Karlsson became the first Swede to win The European Tour Order of Merit.
That was enough to finish two strokes ahead of England’s Anthony Wall and Germany’s Martin Kaymer.
Afterwards Kjeldsen said: “Winning is not easy. There's a lot of good players out here - apart from Tiger Woods, there's not a lot of people that seem to win a lot.
“I think that's the way this game is. A lot of things have to go right for you, and one win like this in a year, I'll take that.”
Karlsson's Order of Merit success saw him become the first Swede to win the Harry Vardon Trophy, leaving Lee Westwood to reflect on a season of near misses.
Westwood is back in the world's top ten for the first time in five and a half years, but once again there was disappointment for him on the final day of a tournament.
Lying second in the at Valderrama with a round to go after the rain hit third round was completed, and needing to win to deny Karlsson the number one spot, he did not even come close in the end.
Denmark's Kjeldsen, never headed from the moment he started the event with a sparkling 65, won the first prize while Westwood's joint fourth place with Sergio Garcia, four shots back, and Padraig Harrington's 13th place meant that Karlsson was certain to top the money list whatever he did.
The 39 year old would like to have finished his campaign in the style of Justin Rose last year - Rose won the final counting event - but instead was down in 32nd spot.
"It would have been fantastic to cap it off with a good week, but I'm not going to be ashamed about this week," said Karlsson.
"In the last three and a half years I have taken myself to a new level and this is fantastic. But this has been the hardest week I've ever experienced in golf. It's one of those situations where you have it in your own hands, but not really, and your focus wanders quite a bit."
There will be no mad celebrations, however. Next season starts this week in Shanghai, and he was off immediately via Paris and looking forward to catching up on some sleep.
Westwood, who most notably this season was one shot away from a play-off in the US Open, said: "It's been a year of nearlys and it was nearly again.
"I didn't feel I was hitting it great all week. I wasn't straight enough, but I've played well all year and I'm pleased about being back in the top ten."
The best it got for him was after 11 holes of the third round, which had to be completed in the morning because of earlier delays.
He was tied for the lead when he birdied the hole, but Kjeldsen then birdied the next three to regain control and it was to prove his day.
Winner of only one of his previous 309 Tour events, but beaten in a play off by Rose last year, he could even afford to bogey the 16th and 17th and still post a closing 71 and eight under par total of 276.
Karlsson has won the money list 19 years after turning professional.
He looked a star in the making when he was runner-up to Nick Faldo in the European Open at Sunningdale in 1992 and was fifth in The Open Championship that season, but his first victory did not come for another three years and only four years ago he was a lowly 116th on the Order of Merit.
Sergio Garcia would have gone to number two in the world if he had made it two wins in a row, but after also drawing level with Kjeldsen in the third round it was not to be and he eventually finished in a tie for fourth.
Kaymer had a share of top spot too when he hit a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th in his final round. But he bogeyed two of the last three and Kjeldsen's birdies on the 11th and 12th effectively settled the issue.
