ST. OMER, France -- David Dixon shot a 5-under 66 Sunday to win the $1.2 million St. Omer Open and earn his first victory on the European Tour.

The Englishman, who was nine shots off the lead in the opening round, finished at 5-under 279 to beat Christian Nilsson of Sweden by one stroke.

"It's unbelievable really," the 713th-ranked Dixon said. "It's everyone's dream to win a European Tour event. It's my first win, so it's massive, an awesome feeling. I can't really get my head round it. It's going to take a while to sink in."

The 31-year-old Dixon had the best performance of the day with a bogey-free round, sinking consecutive birdies from the 7th hole to the 10th before taking the lead for good with a birdie on the 14th.

"I took a bit of a gamble on the 14th, hitting a driver off the tee, then a 3-wood into the green," Dixon said. "But they were two great shots, so it paid off handsomely."

Nilsson finished with a 71 after three bogeys over the last nine holes.

"I thought level par would be enough today, but it wasn't," he said. "David played really well, and 66 is a great score, so well done to him."

Steven O'Hara of Scotland was tied for second until he bogeyed the 17th to finish third, two strokes off the pace.

Seve Benson of England had a 67 to take fourth place, tied with countryman Richard Bland (68) and Frenchman Francois Delamontagne (71), three shots behind Dixon.

Robert Coles of England shared the lead with Nilsson after he birdied the sixth, but slipped to seventh place with a 283 total after three bogeys on the back nine.

Having started the day on level par, Dixon fired four consecutive birdies from the seventh hole and then another at the par-5 14th to snatch the victory.

Dixon's passage to the top of the leaderboard was aided by slip-ups from Nilsson, whose level-par 71 proved insufficient.

Nilsson equalled the course record on Friday with a 7-under 64, but hit three bogeys on the back nine Sunday as the pressure increased. He needed to chip in on the 18th to force a playoff but fell just short, handing Dixon an unlikely win.

Dixon, 31, shot a 6-over 77 on the first day, but stormed back into contention with 67 and 69 before Sunday's dramatic finish.

"I played very well and I was very calm on the last few holes, which was surprising," said an overwhelmed Dixon. "I hit it close all day, but at the start I wasn't making the putts. But then they started to roll in for that run of birdies and I holed some good ones on the last few holes.

"It's going to take a while to sink in. I didn't think about (winning) today and didn't let those thoughts enter my mind on the course, which helped," he explained. "Yes it's a small event, but a win's a win and for me it's massive."

Dixon's win gives him an exemption on the European Tour until the end of 2009, as well as approximately $200,000 and a place at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in November.

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