The unheralded Quiros shot a five-under-par 67 for a total score of 13-under-par 275 overall, pipping long-time leader, Charl Schwartzel.

Schwartzel, the 2004 winner, was one shot behind the Spaniard playing the last, but deposited his second shot on the par-five 18th into the water surrounding the notorious green, effectively killing his chances of forcing a play-off.

Quiros sealed his victory with a remarkable putt for eagle from 65 feet on the 18th which shaved the hole, leaving him with a simple tap-in for birdie.

"I have not been hitting the ball very straight off the tee and Saturday was terrible, I was pulling everything," said Quiros. "But with my putting, which has been very poor the last five months, I didn't miss.

"And when I have a six-iron in my hand I think I can do anything, I don't use it as an umbrella."

Britons Lee Westwood and Mark Pilkington, tied for second two strokes behind Schwartzel at the start of the final round, both endured frustration on the course.

Westwood finished third on nine-under-par, four behind Quiros, after a one-over-par 73, while Pilkington shot a 75.

The Welshman tied for seventh after his round was destroyed by three successive double-bogeys from the seventh to the ninth holes.

Playing in his first European Tour event this season, the 23-year old Quiros opened with a 74 in the first round, but tore up the leaderboard with round of 66 and 68 to start the final round in fifth place, four shots off the pace.

A string of huge drives off the tees and a deft hand on the greens saw the man from Cadiz in southern Spain hit the front with three birdies in his outward loop followed by three successive birdies from the 13th to the 15th.

Quiros, who is being coached by former Ryder Cup star Jose Rivero, admitted that he thought his birdie at 18 would only earn him a playoff with Schwartzel, but the South African, who held at least a share of the lead for the first three rounds, could only par the final hole for a level-par 72.

Schwartzel, the 2004 champion and 2005 runner-up said he was aiming for the middle of the green on the par-five 18th and two putts to force a playoff.

"The wind was coming from the right and I wanted to be left of the flag in the middle of the green, but I just overdid it. It was just a bad shot," Schwartzel said.

The 22-year-old suffered a string of narrow misses on the greens on the front nine, but thought he played well and didn't throw away any chances.

"I was in the fairway the whole time, but nothing happened with the putter. On the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth holes, my putts went over the edge of the hole."

The Sunshine and European Tours travel to Port Elizabeth next for the South African Airways Open Championship at Humewood Golf Club, from 14 to 17 December 2006.

Collated final round scores and totals (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):

275 Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 74 66 68 67

276 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 68 68 68 72

279 Lee Westwood 73 66 67 73

280 Ross Fisher 73 69 68 70, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 72 70 69 69

281 Mark Pilkington 70 71 65 75, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 71 69 69 72

282 Alan McLean 77 69 69 67, Ernie Els (Rsa) 72 72 69 69, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 74 71 69

283 Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 74 67 70 72, Titch Moore (Rsa) 76 64 73 70, Phillip Archer 68 72 74 69, Scott Drummond 71 70 73 69, Desmond Terblanche (Rsa) 70 72 65 76, Edward Rush 73 72 71 67

284 Robert Rock 70 74 71 69, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 73 69 72 70, Johan Axgren (Swe) 70 74 68 72

285 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 75 70 69 71, Liam Bond 71 71 70 73, Sven Struver (Ger) 76 70 70 69, Simon Nash (USA) 69 75 70 71, Steve Van Vuuren (Rsa) 69 74 73 69

286 Ian Hutchings (Rsa) 70 70 75 71, David Drysdale 73 73 68 72, Lee Slattery 72 73 69 72, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 73 72 71 70, Euan Little 72 70 70 74, Andre Cruse (Rsa) 71 73 72 70, Rafael Bello (Spa) 69 69 77 71

287 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 73 73 71 70, Anton Haig (Rsa) 78 68 70 71, Oliver Wilson 68 70 72 77, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 70 76 68 73, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 74 72 74 67, Gregory Havret (Fra) 73 68 71 75, Alan Michell (Rsa) 69 73 73 72

288 Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 73 72 70 73, Grant Muller (Rsa) 71 73 69 75

289 Benn Barham 70 72 72 75, Andrew Coltart 69 76 71 73, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 72 74 70 73, Vaughn Groenewald (Rsa) 71 73 75 70

290 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 75 69 76 70, Werner Geyer (Rsa) 71 74 73 72, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 74 69 74 73

291 Brandon Pieters (Rsa) 70 71 74 76, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 72 72 72 75, Keith Horne (Rsa) 72 71 75 73, Sam Little 74 70 74 73

292 Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 73 69 68 82, Neil Cheetham 73 72 70 77, Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 72 72 74 74, Tom Whitehouse 71 73 76 72, Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa) 73 70 72 77, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 70 75 69 78

293 Juan Parron (Spa) 75 70 70 78, Wayne De Haas (Rsa) 68 72 75 78, Oliver Fisher 71 70 77 75, Sam Walker 69 74 71 79, Ross Wellington (Rsa) 75 71 76 71, Richard Finch 78 66 74 75, James Kamte (Rsa) 71 74 71 77, Trevor Fisher Jnr (Rsa) 71 72 78 72

294 Jean Hugo (Rsa) 73 73 74 74

295 Gareth Davies 73 68 77 77, Jonathan Lomas 73 73 74 75

296 Lee S James 72 73 73 78

297 Mark Murless (Rsa) 74 71 77 75

298 Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 71 75 75 77, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 76 70 77 75