BEIJING (AFP) - An emotional Scott Strange shot a closing 68 for a one-stroke victory over Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano at the Volvo China Open on Sunday. The Australian began the final round four off the pace but birdies at the fifth and eighth saw him move into contention on a congested leaderboard. A par putt at the 12th slid by the hole but it proved a temporary setback as birdies at the 14th and 15th were followed by another at the 17th which earned him victory in the European Tour and OneAsia Tour co-sanctioned event. Fernandez-Castano birdied the par-five last for a 72 and his second straight runner-up finish after losing a play-off in the Estoril Open in Portugal. Englishman Richard Finch, the third-round leader, closed with a 74 to finish on six-under, level with Australian Ashley Hall (71) and New Zealander Mark Brown (69), both of whom had posted a course-record 65 in the third round. Strange's sister passed away from cancer last June after his wire-to-wire win in the Wales Open and the Perth-born 32-year-old welled up in the scorer's tent here once he realised he had secured victory. "The win in Wales meant a lot because of what I was going through with my family and my sister," he said. "This is just as special as Wales. If my sister was here now, I'm sure she would be proud of me. "I'm delighted. I had a break of about six weeks before this, so I came refreshed and hungry to play," added Strange, who earned a spot in September's 3.2 million dollar Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain. Strange, who used a local caddie, paid tribute to other players who managed to get the best of the testing course, which featured true but tricky greens, and required patience more than aggression. "There are players like Mark Brown who went from almost missing the cut to finishing third, but not many players could shoot low scores for four days." Brown had a rollercoaster final day. The New Zealander, winner of the Sail Open and Johnnie Walker Classic last year, picked up four birdies on the front nine, racked up two bogeys and a double in the next five holes, then birdied three of the last four. Hall was two-over for the day after 14 holes, but the 25-year-old then birdied three of the last four to add another impressive performance to his victory in January's Victorian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Finch saw his bid falter on the front nine, where he recorded three bogeys. The 31-year-old, who won the Irish and New Zealand Opens last year, birdied 10 but was unable to add to that as he parred his way home. He was philosophical about seeing victory slip through his fingers. "That's the way it goes, you've just got to take it on the chin so that's that," he said. Thailand's Chapchai Nirat missed out on a share of third after a double-bogey at the last. The 25-year-old fell back to four-under and a share of eighth with Irishman Paul McGinley and 2007 champion Markus Brier of Austria.