The towering 6ft 4in, 20-year-old from the Dainfern Country Club in Johannesburg, held his nerve magnificently in the playoff as he edged out fellow South African and overnight leader Richard Sterne and England's Oliver Wilson with his second consecutive birdie at the 18th, serving in this instance as the 1st extra hole of the sudden-death play-off.

This after birdying this same hole at Phuket's spectacular Blue Canyon County Club from three feet for a 13-under 275 total in the regulation 72 holes and then watching as Wilson and Sterne both agonized over missed chances on the final green to complete their closing rounds with matching 275's, having posted rounds of 71 and 72 respectively.

Retief Goosen, one of at least three better known South Africa's who were upstaged by the gifted young stroke maker, finished three shots back and alone in 4th place after he too closed with a 70.

Canadian Masters winner Mike Weir was a further shot back in 5th place while Ernie Els, his county's highest world-ranked golfer at No 6 and one of the five South Africans who filled the top nine places here on Sunday, shared sixth place with RSA veteran David Frost, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and India's Gaurav Ghei.

Haig, who qualified for the event as a member of the Asian Tour - it co-sanctioned this event along with The European and Australasian Tours - and already a winner in Asia and a two-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, was clearly delighted by his latest victory which besides the prize money of 310,801 Euros (£208,330), will open countless doors to him, including membership of the European Tour until at least the end of 2009

The big-hitting youngster, who admitted without hesitation that he was 'a little shell-shocked' to be holding a trophy previously won by the likes Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, let alone Els and Goosen, was clearly delighted when he told reporters, "It (winning) feels absolutely amazing.

"I didn't think this would be possible before Friday, but after shooting 64 in the second round I knew I was hitting the ball well enough to win.

"The driver went straight for me today and the putts dropped. What a feeling it was on the 18th in the play-off. Sorry, but I'm struggling to put it into words."

Haig confided that his approach to the 18th in regulation play was the probably the shot that set up his victory.

"When I hit the drive, I thought 'oh, oh, this is trouble'. I thought I had actually lost the tournament there.

"The ball was lying on a down slope, not too good, but I hit a great lob wedge - one of the best shots of my life - to about three feet for birdie."

Watched by his parents, who flew in from South Africa to follow the fortunes of their youngest son, Haig is now set to play more often on The European Tour where he'll find himself up against his heroes, Els and Goosen, on a regular basis.

"Ernie and Retief have been my heroes. They are awesome players and put a bit of 'oomph' in my game that I hope will get me to the top.

"They have great fighting spirits. They never give up and are both incredible people as well."

Wilson, in the meantime, was naturally disappointed at losing the second play-off of his promising career, but he is confident his game is heading in the right direction.

The Mansfield-born, former Walker Cup winner also lost to Paul Casey in extra time at the Volvo China Open 15 months ago.

"I had my chances today but I didn't take them. I hit great tee shots at the 18th in regulation play and in the play-off but was disappointed not to be putting from less than 20 feet either time.

"The last time I was in this position against Paul Casey I made mistakes and didn't do myself justice. I didn't feel the same way this time.

"I was comfortable out there and knew what I was trying to do. I hope it won't be long before I am back in this position, but I know I'll get there!"

The outcome was also a let-down for 2004 Open de Madrid champion Sterne, who had led the round until making a bogey four at the 17th.

He admitted: "It was close but what can I do? I played my best but it didn't go the way I wanted. I am disappointed, sure, but it's great for Anton.

"Overall it's been a good week and it showed me that anything can happen in golf. I was ready to go home after my opening 75, but the back to back 64s on Friday and Saturday were great. They certainly gave myself a chance, but that's how it goes."

Sterne moved to 18th on the Order of Merit and Wilson to 21st but by becoming only the sixth Affiliate Member to win a European Tour title - and the seventh first-time champion in the 2007 season - Haig is now qualified to play in some stellar tournaments such as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the HSBC Champions in China.

Colin Montgomerie finished tied for sixth at eight under, England's Simon Hurd was a further two shots back and Graeme Storm, who carded a two-over-par final round, finished tied for 16th at five under.

"I'm disappointed," Storm said afterwards. "I played well on the front nine but I struggled on the back nine, I just got frustrated.

"A top 20 finish is always good, but I thought I had a chance at the top 10."

ALL THE FINAL ROUND SCORES

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72)

275 Anton Haig (RSA) 71 64 70 70(Won at the first play-off hole.), Oliver Wilson 68 66 70 71, Richard Sterne (RSA) 75 64 64 72

278 Retief Goosen (RSA) 68 68 72 70

279 Mike Weir (Can) 66 78 68 67

280 Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 69 73 74 64, Colin Montgomerie 69 70 70 71, Ernie Els (RSA) 73 70 67 70, David Frost (RSA) 69 70 72 69

281 Richard Bland 68 70 72 71, Iain Steel (Myn) 69 73 70 69, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 72 69 71 69, Simon Hurd 73 71 66 71

282 Richard Lee (Nzl) 67 70 70 75, Marc Warren 68 72 71 71

283 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 68 70 71 74, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 71 73 68, Aron Price (Aus) 74 68 67 74, Garry Houston 72 68 73 70, Chris Rodgers 71 70 71 71, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 70 70 73 70, Graeme Storm 66 73 70 74, Adam Bland (Aus) 71 67 75 70, Alastair Forsyth 74 70 69 70

284 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 67 72 71 74, Stephen Gallacher 66 76 68 74, Adam Scott (Aus) 74 69 70 71, Matthew Millar (Aus) 71 70 71 72, James Nitties (Aus) 69 67 74 74, Brad Kennedy (Aus) 65 77 71 71, Mark Foster 72 70 72 70

285 Damien McGrane 71 72 69 73, Phillip Archer 74 69 67 75, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 70 74 70 71, Simon Dyson 71 70 73 71, David Lynn 73 69 73 70

286 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 72 69 71 74, Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 72 76 72, Bryan Saltus (USA) 74 69 72 71, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 72 70 67 77, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 71 73 72 70

287 Gary Orr 73 68 74 72, Edward Michaels (USA) 70 74 74 69, Scott Strange (Aus) 73 69 69 76, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 70 71 75 71, Jun-Won Park (Kor) 71 73 71 72, Jarrod Moseley (Aus) 70 71 72 74, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 71 71 74 71, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 75 69 74 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 73 69 71 74, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 70 73 73 71

288 Keith Horne (Rsa) 68 71 73 76, Craig Parry (Aus) 69 74 77 68, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 70 72 74 72, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 68 75 74, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 69 75 75 69

289 Marcus Both (Aus) 73 70 71 75, Kim Felton (Aus) 70 68 74 77, Nick Flanagan (Aus) 70 69 77 73

290 Graeme McDowell 67 76 70 77, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 72 70 75 73, Peter Fowler (Aus) 68 72 77 73

291 Andrew Coltart 72 72 74 73, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 71 71 75 74

292 Andrew Marshall 73 71 77 71, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 70 74 75 73, Barry Hume 68 74 79 71, Simon Khan 70 74 72 76

293 Ken Chi Ling (Tpe) 70 71 80 72, David Diaz (Aus) 73 71 76 73, Adam Blyth (Aus) 70 72 75 76

294 Unho Park (Aus) 70 74 75 75

295 Markus Brier (Aut) 74 68 76 77

296 Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 71 76 78, Lee Sung (Kor) 71 72 78 75

297 Chris Campbell (Aus) 72 72 77 76, Scott Gardiner (Aus) 67 77 79 74

308 Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 71 73 76 88