Peter Whiteford's challenge falls apart at Italian Open

Lying joint-third going into the closing 18 holes, the Scot ran up a triple-bogey 7 at the first before suffering another disaster at the short fourth, where a second triple-bogey of the day dropped him right out of contention.

In a round that also contained six birdies and two bogeys, Whiteford, who tied for second in the Andalucian Open earlier in the season, eventually signed for a two-over-par 74 to finish in a tie for 13th on 280 alongside fellow Scot Richie Ramsay.

After catapulting himself up the leaderboard with a third-round 65, Ramsay, the South African Open champion, closed with a 71.

Andersson Hed, 38, held on to claim his first European Tour title at the 245th attempt after almost blowing a six-shot lead. The Swede took a commanding advantage into the final round in Turin after a brilliant nine-under-par 63 on Saturday, but found himself pegged back by England's David Horsey.

Horsey moved into a share of the lead with his sixth birdie of the day on the 13th, but promptly dropped a shot at the next and also bogeyed the 18th after a ten-minute wait on the tee.

That gave Andersson Hed some much-needed breathing room and he was able to par the last two holes to complete a round of 73 and a winning total of 16-under-par.

Horsey, winner of the Challenge Tour in 2008, was second on 14-under after a closing 68, with Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, Sweden's Peter Gustafsson and England's Chris Wood sharing third two shots further back.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, coincidentally the last person to benefit when a six-shot lead was squandered in the final round when he won the BMW Asian Open in 2004, was expected to be Andersson Hed's main challenger but slumped to a closing 76.

"The first nine holes I was very tense," admitted Anderson Hed, who carded two bogeys and one birdie in an outward 37. "I started to loosen up a bit from the 11th and played a bit better. It still wasn't great, but it was a more solid last seven or eight holes.

"It means a lot to win, both for the rankings and self-confidence. It would have felt even better to have played well today but I was here to be first and now I am first."

Horsey refused to blame the lengthy wait on the 18th tee for the bogey six which effectively ended his chances, but was disappointed not to have kept the pressure up after claiming a share of the lead. "To bogey two of the last five holes is disappointing," said the 25-year-old from Stockport, who was also second in Malaysia last year.

Teenage prodigy Matteo Manassero, making his first professional start on home soil after a superb amateur career, carded a closing 71 to finish in a tie for 29th.

The 17-year-old Italian was only four off the lead at halfway and slightly disappointed with his weekend's efforts, but still showed more than enough to prove finishing 13th in the Open last year and 36th in the Masters last month was no fluke.

Of the other Scots, Andrew Coltart (70) finished on 282, a shot ahead of Andrew McArthur (73), with Paul Lawrie (71) and Andrew McArthur (73) a further stroke adrift. Alastair Forsyth (72) and David Drysdale (74) ended up on 285.