Victory in the BMW International – despite a fast-finishing 62 by Argentinian Rafael Echenique, which included an amazing albatross at the par five 18^th – not only saw Dougherty turn a corner, after an at times desperate time on Tour with his first victory since the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links at St Andrews.

But the first place cheque for £283,000 – and his third victory of his career - was accompanied by something just as sweet for the likeable Liverpudlian – a place in next month’s Open at Turnberry.

Dougherty had to make three consecutive pars before claiming victory in his 43^rd tournament since his last win, racking up the lowest score of the season on 22-under par in the process with an eight-under par 64 – also the lowest winning final round score of the season so far.

He raised a hand to the skies and declared: “The strength that my mum had lives on in me.”

Nick admitted he feared the 18^th hole was going to wreck his dream of victory as news of the two at the last by Echenique travelled down the fairway.

Dougherty had found the water off the tee just 24 hours earlier when trying to put pressure on Goosen as he tried to close the gap going into Sunday’s final round.

After seeing his four-shot lead going down the 16^th hole reduced by three shots at a stroke by the Argentinian, who has two victories to his name, including a Challenge Tour event in Sweden three years ago – Dougherty said: "I thought 'Oh my goodness.'

“The 18th has been an absolute brute for me this week and I'm delighted to get the job done.”

There was no denying the Shaw Hill Golf Club member at the death though. “I was superb, really,” he said a delighted Dougherty. “My attitude was world class - my golf game at times wasn't.

“I putted super, but I didn't feel like I had great control off the tee today. My irons were decent, but not as good as they have been - probably the worst I've hit it off the tee all week today.

“But I managed to find my way around the golf course and I made some crucial putts, and to shoot 64 on any day is superb.”

Dougherty has been one of the longest users of StrokeAverage.com’s analytical services.

He first started using the stats and game analysis system back in 2001 when he was a member of the English Golf Union’s amateur squad, alongside the likes of Gary Wolstenholme, Zane Scotland and Nick’s 2001 Walker Cup team-mates Richard McEvoy and Jamie Elson.

The protégé of Nick Faldo – the first player to win the Faldo Junior Series three times – has been paying careful attention to his stats over the past couple of months as he sought to rediscover the form that put him in contention for a place in the 2006 Ryder Cup team.

A grateful Dougherty was quick to thank his support team after his triumph in Munich, having seen off two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen with another early three-birdie burst in the fourth round.

The 27-year-old, who used a different Callaway putter for the first time this week, said: “I want to say thank you to all the people who have helped me through some tough times. I have a great team around me and it's great to be back where I feel I belong."

And after letting one chance of victory slip through his grasp in the Wales Open, at Celtic Manor, at the start of June, Dougherty proved that he had learned some more lessons along the way in his golfing education.

He added: I felt like I should have won that tournament.

“I changed the game plan a bit and when I made a little bit of a mistake at the start, I pushed way too hard and I three-putted the seventh green there from nowhere, and then of course then I needed to get two shots back and pushed on to the next hole and dropped another one.

“So I was chasing my tail and that's how I ended up shooting that horrific number - I didn't play like 79, but that's how that happened.

“I learned a lot from it and I would do it differently next time.

“It's amazing being on Tour eight years and still learning how to win golf tournaments.”

And Dougherty saw the improvements in a second round 65 that included two eagles as he tried to hang on to the coat-tails of early pace-setter Goosen, who went into the final round with a two shot-lead.

Dougherty, who shot a 68 in the third round to trail Goosen by three shotsgoing into Sunday, said: “I've made it more of a trend to be playing good golf, whereas a few months ago, I'd have the odd good round.

“Now I'm building on it, and Wales was a good example of when I put three really good rounds together, one bad day.”

He also admitted he had been more worried about winning the BMW International Open than getting into The Open, which his famous mentor won three times between 1987 and 1992.

That is a record no British player has come close to in post-war history and which Ireland’s Padraig Harrington will be looking to beat when he attempts to become the first player to win three Claret Jugs in a row since Aussie Peter Thompson in the 1950s, when the Open returns to Turnberry for the first time in 15 years, next month.

Dougherty said: “I'd love to play in The Open. But I'm thinking long term with trying to get back to where I was, and the best way of doing that is to stay in the now.

“I'm just going to concentrate week-to-week and try and build on the good signs I've had recently.”

His mother died in an American hospital a week after watching her son make his debut in the Masters at Augusta.

Although he played in the Italian Open just a day after travelling to the tournament after her funeral, his form suffered for the rest of 2008 as he slid down from number 47th in the world to 136th before he finished tied for 4th at the 2009 3 Irish Open won by amateur Shane Lowry in May.

Nick can now look forward to a place in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone, in August, and a place in another World Golf Championship event - the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, in November - the final event in the countdown to the inaugural Race to Dubai.

Dougherty, whose first European Tour win came in the 2005 Singapore Masters, jumps up from 43rd to 14th in the Race to Dubai rankings. Nick has also climbed up to 64th in the Official World Golf Rankings.