A delighted Grace said: "It feels awesome. I've really dreamt of this moment my whole life."
"I got goosebumps this morning when I looked back at what Louis (Oosthuizen) achieved here winning the (2010) British Open and I thought lifting this trophy on that little bridge is going to be amazing."
As for the early part of his round, Grace said: "I kept hitting good shot after good shot for the first eight holes but I just never made a putt."
However, Grace then turned to his caddie Zach Rasego - Oosthuizen's 2010 Open winning bagman - to help him read the lines and it made an immediate impact.
"I told Zach 'just jump in with reading the lines' as I just needed a little clarification... and then the stroke just felt good again."
Grace started the year 265th in the world rankings but is now comfortably in the top 50 after his victory in this prestigious event added to his wins earlier this year in the Joburg Open, Volvo Golf Champions and Volvo China Open.
The monster first prize of £491,000 means Grace is now up to third place in the Race To Dubai.
