It has been well over three years since Tommy Fleetwood was photographed with his ailing dog, Massie in the Scottish Highlands as the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship winner.

In between that maiden Tour victory the unruly-haired Englishman had some 60 other Tour events with a best of three seconds in 2014.

However the newly-turned 26-year old kept his cool on the back nine to come home in 31 to win by a shot with a 17-under par tally and add his name to the gleaming Falcon trophy as the 2017 Abu Dhabi HSBC champion.

Fleetwood entered the day a shot behind overnight leader Tyrrell Hatton and turned in 36 on a day of tough scoring and gusting winds at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Tommy Fleetwood admires the gleaming Falcon trophy in ending a more than three year drought to capture the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

A wonderful chip-in eagle on the tenth then sparked his round to life and three further birdies helped him seal a 17 under total and a one-shot win over US Open champion Dustin Johnson and 2014 winner in Abu Dhabi Pablo Larrazábal.

It was a first win in three years and 150 days for the man who turned 26 on Thursday and has finished in the top 50 in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex for the past four seasons.

Johnson finished with an eagle on the last in a closing 68 with Larrazábal signing for the same score after a roller coaster of a final round.

Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger also signed for a 68 in finishing at 15 under alongside three-time champion Martin Kaymer and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who had rounds of 69.

Fleetwood had one top ten in 14 months following the 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and is delighted to at last see the hard work pay off with the help of good friend Ian Finnis on the bag.

“I thought maybe the second win would come sooner to be honest,” he said. “It’s been a massive comeback.

“I made it up to Finn, who has been caddying for me, one of my best mates. We made the switch and not a lot of people thought it would work and we proved them all wrong. It feels great.

I thought maybe the second win would come sooner to be honest. It’s been a massive comeback – Tommy Fleetwood

“I had a really hard time from July 2015 to July last year where I really struggled with my game. It’s been an awkward curve.

“The only thing left was ‘let’s get a win’ but, you know, you keep knocking on the door and it will come. I didn’t really think it would be this week. It just shows a lot can happen in golf.

“I just thought, keep going, you never know. It’s a tough day really. The pins are tucked away and it’s very windy, especially at the start. The chip-in on ten, birdie on 11, changed everything all of a sudden from nowhere and I was leading.”

Fleetwood bogeyed the third and birdied the eighth on his front nine but it was playing partners Kaymer and Aphibarnrat who were battling for the lead.

Aphibarnrat made a birdie-birdie start in turning in 33 and with Kaymer also playing his front nine in the same score with the help of three birdies from the sixth, they led at the turn.

• Thanks to European Tour