Dodt sank birdies at the 16th and 18th holes to total 14-under 274 and claim his first European Tour victory after the lead had changed several times with runner-up Richard Finch of England (66) looking likely to win at one point.
English pair Richard Bland (71) and Barry Lane (71) plus David Drysdale of Scotland (70) and Tetsuji Hiratsuka of Japan (71) followed next on 276.
Dodt, whose previous best finish was a tie for ninth at last year's Singapore Open, began the day a shot off the pace but had picked up three strokes by the turn and was well placed with nine holes to play.
A bogey at the 11th threatened to derail him, but Dodt managed to recover over the final three holes.
Finch mounted his charge from down the leaderboard, reaching reached the halfway point in 32 having collected five birdies and a bogey. But he could only pick up two more shots down the stretch.
Bland's 66 had catapulted him on Saturday into contention and two early birdies saw him keep pace. However, he bogeyed No. 6 and, although he recovered the shot at the 16th, he could not find the birdie he needed at the last to force a playoff.
Drysdale had bogeys at the 13th and 15th to effectively scupper his hopes. While the 49-year-old Lane failed to become the European Tour's oldest winner after failing to get going on the front nine.
Hiratsukam, who shot a course record of 62 on Friday, had a double bogey at No. 5 and dropped another shot two holes later.
At Pebble Beach, California, Dustin Johnson and Paul Goydos could not be any more different, which is why it was odd to see them atop the leaderboard Saturday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with identical scores.
On their birth certificates, Goydos is 20 years older. On the tee, Johnson is 48 yards longer.
Johnson is tall and athletic. Goydos is ... not.
Johnson overpowered Spyglass Hill for an 8-under 64 that included two eagles. Goydos poked his way along the splendid coastline of Pebble Beach and birdied two of the last three holes for an 8-under 64.
Nothing separated them on the scoreboard, which is all that matters. They were at 18-under 196, four shots clear of anyone else heading into the final round of the three-course event.
"His game is a little different from mine," said Johnson, who will try to become only the fifth back-to-back winner of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and the first in 20 years. "And he finds a way to get it done." Johnson began his round at Spyglass Hill with a 343-yard drive, leading to a 20-foot eagle from the fringe.
Goydos ripped a 268-yard drive on the par-5 second hole at Pebble Beach, leaving him a 3-wood into the 513-yard hole that he hit to 8 feet for an eagle.
Goydos was asked if he would simply ignore how far Johnson hits the ball off the tee.
"No, I fully panic," Goydos said. "You know, it is what it is. I don't know if 'ignore' is the right word, but you appreciate. I'm going to appreciate his play, but you go out and play your game, too. I have do things differently than he does, and he's got to do things differently than I do." Johnson was asked which course plays long for him. His answer came through a fixed smile.
"Not too many of them," he said.
Even so, the 25-year-old Johnson, emerging as one of the top young American stars, is not about to take Goydos lightly.
"It doesn't matter how far you hit it or where you hit it," Johnson said. "You've just got to find a way to get it in the hole. Whoever can get it in the hole tomorrow is going to come out with the victory." Tied for third at 14-under 200 were J.B. Holmes and Bryce Molder, who each had a 68 at Spyglass Hill, and Matt Jones, who had a 66 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula.
David Duval had a 67 and was tied for seventh. Phil Mickelson had a 69 at Pebble Beach and was eight shots off the lead.
The biggest star Saturday was the weather, some of the most spectacular conditions this tournament has seen in years. Along the coast of Pebble Beach, huge swells crashed against the rocks and the sea wall.
"The ocean was angry today," Goydos said. "What they've got here is God's gift to golf."
