Langer had nearly pulled out on Thursday when a neck problem saw him struggle to a 76 and joint 135th place, but he then added rounds of 66 and 68 and was only one behind after five birdies in his first 17 holes.

However, much to his disappointment and that of the home crowd, he pulled his second into rough at the par five last, failed to birdie and Fasth doubled his advantage with a seven-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

A sixth Tour victory and the £225,396 first prize was his after a par on the last.

Langer was joint second - with Portugal's Jose-Filipe Lima - just as he was to South African Rory Sabbatini after a play-off on the US Tour a month ago and he had also just failed to become the first player on the European circuit to win after surviving the halfway cut with nothing to spare.