Italian Pavan shared the lead with Harrington after the third round at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague but fell behind as his Irish rival took a three-stroke lead at the turn to close in on a 16th Tour title.

The 29-year-old Pavan fought back, however, with five birdies on the back nine to finish on 22-under for the event.

"It's amazing, it's massive," Pavan said.

"I've won four times on the Challenge Tour but it was a long time ago.

"I'll enjoy this because it's hard to get and I'll just keep working on the stuff that seems to be working and enjoy the success.

Pavan said his first European Tour win was extra special.

RIGHT: Harrington was two shots away from collecting his 16th Tour title. PHOTO: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

"I'm going back home tomorrow and we're having a second baby, a little girl is coming on Wednesday. We're really excited about that and I can't wait to celebrate with my family."

Harrington nearly shot a hole in one on the 13th but his birdie was undone by a bogey on the 15th. He finished the round with a three-under 69.

Malaysia's Gavin Green (69) was third at 17 under for the tournament while England's Lee Slattery (68) and Scotland's Scott Jamieson (70) were tied for fourth at 15 under

European Ryder Cup hopefuls Thomas Pieters and Eddie Pepperell both fired rounds of 71 to be tied ninth with seven others.

The best of the Australian contingent were Jason Scrivener (67), who made a late bogey in his five under closing round, and Adam Bland (70) in a share for 18th at 11 under.

Nick Cullen and Lucas Herbert carded rounds of 70 to be seven under while Scott Hend's 73 left him at four over.