“Obviously it's been the season of my life,” said Noren, who chalked up his fourth win in the last four months on The European Tour in this tournament, the second in the three-leg Final Series. “I tried to get in this tournament so many years, and when I got in here, ended up winning - it feels unbelievable.”

He started the final round-six shots off the lead and blazed his way to a brilliant nine-under-par 63 to pull away from overnight leader, Jeunghun Wang, his final total of 14-under-par 274 giving him that comfortable cushion between him and the rest of the pack.

Behind him, Branden Grace three-putted the 18th to let go of his sole possession of third, and slipped back into a five-way share of that position with Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, Spain’s Alejandro Canizares, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and 2014 South African Open champion Andy Sullivan of England.

It was a masterful putting display which saw the Swede race out to nine under par after 11 holes, and that in itself was extraordinary after he came off the course from the third round dissatisfied with that part of his game which saw him slip to a three-over 75, seemingly out of contention.

“Yesterday was a bit tough and my game wasn’t really there,” he said. “Worked some in the room, tried to get the right feelings for today and it clicked. I don’t think I’ve ever played as good, especially on the greens. I’ve never holed so many putts, I think, than on those first 11 holes.”

That he got to play that way in front of Open champion Henrik Stenson, his more illustrious countryman, and Grace, the hometown favourite who had the crowd rooting for him, made things especially sweet for him. “I was quite nervous coming into this round, playing with Stenson, playing with Grace, in front of a lot of people,” said Noren. “I haven’t played with him in the last five years I think. I haven't been on the same schedule. I played with Louis (Oosthuizen) yesterday, and Grace and Stenson today, and I look at them and I wish I could hit a few shots that they can hit and maybe I’m not as good and I try to keep improving on that.”

Someone who wants to keep improving on his finishing spot in the Nedbank Golf Challenge is Grace. “I would have liked to be third alone,” he said. “Very disappointed with the three-putt on 18. But tied third is my best finish here yet, and hopefully next year I can come back and improve on that.”

Noren’s win means he has rocketed from 104th on the Official World Golf Ranking to inside the top 10, and he still almost can’t believe he belongs in the kind of elite company into which his stellar play has elevated him. “Obviously with a win comes a lot of confidence, and yeah, I'm just trying to keep improving,” he said. “Now I’ve got a lot more confidence, having the lead and being up there, it’s obviously more comfortable.”

Who would bet on him not pulling off an extraordinary fifth win of the year in next week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Vincent Schaffler / Sunshine Tour