Blackheath golfer Adam Stephens achieved the breakthrough professional win he'd been working towards for years last Sunday, dominating the 2014 South Pacific Open Championship in New Caledonia to triumph by five shots.
Stephens played what he described as "pretty conservative golf" in his opening two rounds (64 and 65) on the 71-par Tina Golf Course, but managed to nail seven birdies to establish a two-stroke lead over New Zealander Brad Shilton.
Ignited by an eagle and a birdie on holes 13 and 14, the 26-year-old increased his lead to five shots in the third round - a lead runners-up Victorian Andrew Kelly, Queenslander Kota Kagasaki and Kiwi amateur Luke Toomey could not reduce in the final round, despite a shaky start by Stephens who bogeyed the first hole.
Regaining his composure, Stephens went on to shoot one-under the card for a tournament total of 269 (-15).
"I had a three putt bogey on the first but it was probably a good thing, it really woke me up," Stephens said.
"I played my C grade game today [Sunday] but managed some A grade scoring - I hit a couple of loose shots out there but managed my misses really well."
Throughout the round he held off challenges from many in the field but watched them fade late in the day.
"I tried not to look at the leaderboard during the round, but it was hard.
"I stuck to my process and tried to give myself birdie opportunities on every hole."
Stephens' first victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia provides him with enormous opportunities.
Apart from winning $21,000 in prize money and official world golf ranking points, Stephens is now able to enter all PGA Tour of Australasia tournaments for the next two years and will tee it up in Australia's biggest events this summer including the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship.
"I have been working pretty hard physically and mentally for the past two years, so this means a lot," Stephens said.
Stephens will play in several Pro-am events this week before returning to the inaugural Chinese PGA Tour for a couple of tournaments and then heads to Western Australia in late October to play in the Perth International.
