FORMER Port Macquarie Golf Club junior champion Steven Jeffress notched his first victory in a 72-hole tournament after surviving a nail- biting finish to win the Victorian PGA Championship at Sanctuary Lakes on Sunday.
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Jeffress, a trainee under local professional Peter Bennett, shot a final round 66 to finish one ahead of Mark Leishman and Anthony Painter.
He grabbed seven final round birdies to finish on 272 - 16 under par.
Leishman had the chance to send the tournament into a play-off, but hit his approach shot into water fronting the final green at Sanctuary Lakes.
Painter then missed a putt which would also have forced a play-off.
Apart from the top three finishers, up to 16 contenders were within four shots of the lead at one point during the final 18 holes.
Jeffress blitzed the Sanctuary Lakes course, with four under par scores.
After cracking 71 on the opening day, Jeffress backed up with 68, 67 and 66.
Jeffress, who started golf at the age of 10, has waited 20 years for his first breakthrough victory.
"It's an awesome feeling to win," he said.
"I've been knocking on the door and doing all the right things to give myself the best chance.
"So it's great to finally get one under the belt."
The tournament was worth $105,000 in prizemoney and is Jeffress' biggest win of his career.
He has claimed a number of Pro-Ams and finished third in the Queensland PGA a few years ago, but the Victorian PGA Championship is one step below the Australian Open and Australian Masters.
Jeffress will next tackle the Victorian Open, from Friday, at the Woodlands Golf Club.
Rookie Warrnambool professional Leishman, 22, reached the final hole tied for the lead but drowned his approach shot after misjudging his lie.
"I picked the right club, but the long, wispy stuff grabbed the hozel and turned it over," he said.
"As soon as I made contact it was headed for the water.
"The rough was a lot stronger than I thought."
Leishman can take many positives from his debut as a tournament professional after graduating last month at the PGA Tour School.
The VIS scholarship holder shot 14-under for the weekend, with closing rounds of 63 (a course record) and 67.
"I felt comfortable competing at this level and it was good to get into contention with a chance of winning.
"I came up short this time but hopefully there'll be more chances."
Sharing fourth place on 14-under par were Queenslander Wayne Persky and David Lutterus, a 20-year-old from Adelaide also playing in his first event as a professional.
Scores after the final round of the Victorian PGA Championship at Sanctuary Lakes (par 72) (- a denotes amateur):
272: Steven Jeffress (NSW) 71 68 67 66
273: Marc Leishman (Vic) 73 70 63 67, Anthony Painter (NSW) 70 65 72 66
274: David Lutterus (SA) 72 66 70 66, Wayne Perske (Qld) 70 67 68 69
275: Chris Gray (WA) 71 69 69 66
276: Chris Downes (Qld) 71 68 68 69
277: Adam Porker (Vic) 73 71 67 66, Aron Price (Qld) 73 71 66 67
278: Jason Ashcroft (Qld) 73 68 68 69, Luke Hickmott (Vic) 69 66 70 73, Cameron Percy (Vic) 68 70 68 72
279: Michael Brennan (NSW) 75 66 69 69, Leigh McKechnie (NSW) 74 64 71 70
280: Nicholas Flanagan (NSW) 70 73 71 66, Peter Nolan (Vic) 71 70 70 69, Michael Sim (WA) 75 70 67 68, Lee Slattery (Vic) 71 70 70 69
281: Robin Hodgetts (Tas) 72 71 69 69, Matthew Keegan (Qld) 78 67 71 65, Brent O'Donoghue (Vic) 69 73 67 72, Ewan Porter (NSW) 69 64 74 74, Alistair Presnell (Vic) 75 68 65 73
282: Kevin Chun (Nzl) 73 72 67 70, Heath D'altera (Vic) 73 67 68 74, Ryan Haywood (Vic) 74 70 69 69, Tony McFadyean (WA) 77 68 71 66, Matthew Millar (ACT) 74 71 69 68, Richard Swift (NSW) 75 69 68 70
283: Bradley Andrews (Qld) 70 70 74 69, Brad Shilton (Nzl) 72 68 71 72, Ryan Haller (Qld) 76 67 71 69, Tom Prowse (Vic a) 71 72 68 72
284: Eddie Barr (Qld) 73 70 69 72, Benjamin Bloomfield (Qld) 70 73 71 70, Steve Collins (WA) 73 68 70 73, Steven Jones (Vic) 74 69 73 68, Nigel Stivala (Vic) 76 69 71 68
285: Tony Carolan (Qld) 75 67 70 73, Kim Felton (WA) 72 73 69 71, Tony McNaughton (Vic) 72 70 70 73
286: Marcus Cain (Qld) 68 75 72 71, Eric Egloff (USA) 72 70 72 72, Andrew Johnson (SA) 68 67 76 75, Glenn Joyner (Vic) 72 73 66 75, Shane Tait (Qld) 72 70 72 72, Tim Wise (Vic) 74 71 68 73
287: David Diaz (Vic) 73 71 69 74
288: Scott Draper (Qld) 73 72 73 70, Henry Epstein (Qld) 74 70 69 75, Martin Pettigrew (NSW) 72 73 67 76
289: Quinton Howe (Vic a) 73 70 71 75
290: Benjamin Burge (NSW) 74 68 75 73, Carl Smedley (Qld) 73 70 72 75
291: Troy Kennedy (Qld) 75 69 75 72
292: Craig Carmichael (ACT) 74 70 73 75
