McGowan holds on for Madrid Masters win

(CNN) -- Ross McGowan fought off a determined challenge from Mikko Ilonen of Finland to claim his maiden European Tour victory at the Madrid Masters on Sunday.

The Englishman's sensational third round 60 had left him with a seven-shot overnight lead and he kept his nerve on a tense final day at the Centro Nacional de Golf.

A one-under par 71 saw him finish on 25 under 263, with Ilonen three shots adrift after a closing 66.

Ilonen had opened with a two-over 74 before successive rounds of 63 gave him a shot at an unlikely victory as he moved to within two of McGowan with four to play.

But the leader rolled home a ten-foot birdie putt on the 15th and the 27-year-old came to the 18th with a three-shot lead.

He then enjoyed a fortunate escape as his second to the par-five hole came to wrest on some wooden sleepers at the front of the green rather than going into the water.

He duly chipped on to the green and two-putted to close out victory and a check for €250,000 ($367.725).

"I came here this week in form and it's lovely to come away with the trophy," he told the official European Tour Web site www.europeantour.com.

"Once I saw where some of the pins were it was a lot trickier and my game-plan was to hit as many greens as I could.

"It means a lot to win - that's another goal out of the way and hopefully from here I can progress and move on to bigger things."

Scotland's David Drysdale finished third on 21 under, with Gareth Maybin finishing in a tie for fourth after a best of the day 64.

Pre-tournament favorite Sergio Garcia, who tied for the halfway lead with Drysdale, closed with a disappointing 71 to finish 17th.

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