Singh sees off Molinari to seize Scottish Open crown July 15, 2012 -- Updated 1940 GMT (0340 HKT) Jeev Milkha Singh cradles the Scottish Open trophy after beating Italy's Francesco Molinari in a playoff on Sunday Jeev Milkha Singh overturns five-shot deficit to claim Scottish Open title at Castle Stuart Overnight leader Francesco Molinari finishes second after forcing playoff with birdie at last Singh's fourth European Tour victory also earns him a place at Open Championship Golf oldest major starts Thursday at Royal Lytham & St Annes (CNN) -- India's Jeev Milkha Singh claimed his fourth European Tour career title on Sunday after winning a playoff against Italy's Francesco Molinari at the Scottish Open. The 40-year-old snatched victory with a birdie at the first extra hole to overhaul Molinari who had started the final round at the Castle Stuart Golf Links with a one-stroke lead. The win also means Singh has booked a place at the Open Championship which starts on Thursday. "I think God has been kind, and I think the field came back and I put myself in a to go in for a playoff - I'm very fortunate," Singh said, EuropeanTour reported. I think God has been kind, and I think the field came back and I put myself in a to go in for a playoff - I'm very fortunate Jeev Milkha Singh The Indian golfer has struggled with back problems in recent years which have left him feeling frustrated, he says. You feel like your game is coming back and another injury creeps up, but I just stuck myself in there and said that you need to work on the physical side, and I worked hard on that. Everything has paid off, and I just want to think about the good things and not what's past and I want to look towards the future now. Singh started the day five shots off the lead but clawed his way back into contention with a five-under par round of 67 to finish the tournament on 17-under par. Molinari shot a final round 72, only securing a playoff with a birdie at the 72nd hole. But the Italian couldn't repeat the feat on the same green a few minutes later, leaving his birdie putt short before Singh holed out from 15 feet to claim the €518,046 ($635,000) first prize. Molinari, who also finished runner-up at last weekend's French Open, will be hoping he can go one better at Royal Lytham & St Annes next week. Earlier, Scotland's Marc Warren had held a two-stroke lead with three holes to play, but a three-putt contributed to a double bogey at the 16th which he followed with a bogey at the 17th. He would eventually finish joint-third with Sweden's Alexander Noren (70) on 16-under par. England's Matthew Baldwin finished a shot further back on 15-under par tied with Soren Kjeldsen from Denmark and France's Thomas Levet. Phil Mickelson had a disappointing final round of 74 dropping back to tie for 16th. The four-time major champion was in good company though. England's Luke Donald (73) finished the tournament on the same total, as did Ireland's Padraig Harrington (71) who will be looking to win a third Open Championship after his back-to-back successes in 2007 and 2008.