Sergio Garcia led from start to finish to hold off British Open champion Henrik Stenson and win the $2.5 million Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday for his first European Tour victory in three years.

The Spaniard started the final day three shots ahead of the Swede and finished with that margin intact with a 19-under 269 after they carded matching 69s.

It was Garcia's first European Tour win since the 2014 Qatar Masters and will leapfrog him to No 9 in the world rankings from his current No 15.

Denmark's Lasse Jensen shot the lowest round of the final day, a 7-under 65, to climb in a tie for third place with England's Tyrrell Hatton (67).

An opening-hole birdie followed by another on the ninth saw Garcia make the turn four ahead of Stenson, and even though the Swede closed the gap to two shots with three birdies and a bogey over his next five holes, the 37-year-old Garcia rarely felt seriously threatened.

The key moment of the tournament came on the par-3 15th when Garcia hit a superb tee shot to two feet for a birdie, while Stenson overshot the green and settled for a bogey.

"I think at that time I was two ahead. He hit a good shot on the 15th, pretty much straight over the flag, just left a little bit, and too much club," said Garcia.

"When he went over the green I knew that it was going to be very difficult to get up and down from there because I've been there in the past and it's very, very tricky."

Garcia, who has yet to win a major championship, added: "I'm really happy to get the win and it is always tough to win against someone like Henrik."

Stenson, the 2007 Dubai champion, said Garcia remained tantalizingly just out of reach.

"I was three shots back at the start of the day and Sergio made an early birdie so I was trailing all day. I was expecting that," he said.

"I needed to come up with some really solid play and even though I didn't quite play my best, I still managed to sneak a couple of birdies in there in the middle of the back nine to move a bit closer."

Agence France-Presse