Matthew Stieger wins NSW PGA Championship
Matthew Stieger won a ticket to next week’s Emirates Australian Open, after recording a victory at the NSW PGA Championship, with a three-stroke margin over Daniel Nisbet.
The tournament was being played at the Mt. Broughton Golf and Country Club, featuring some the prominent names on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
The New South Welshman started off his final-round campaign with a birdie putt on the third hole. He then parred each of the next seven holes, prior to recording an amazing eagle on the 11th hole.
Thereafter, he drained another putt for a birdie on the 16th hole, to finish the day with a four-under par 68. At the end of the tournament, he found himself accumulating an overall score of 15-under par 273.
After recording his victory, he expressed his pleasure in tasting success in his only sixth professional start on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
The Australian youngster turned professional two months ago and was planning to pre-qualify for the next week’s national open. However, a victory allowed him to skip the qualifying stage.
Moreover, he also secured a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the OneAsia Tour.
“I don’t have to pre-qualify in the morning which is a massive bonus!” said Stieger. “I was a bit worried about getting into next week and then the PGA. Everything was still up in the air for the next year and I didn’t know where I was heading, so to come
out with a win just solves a lot of problems”.
Talking to the PGA Tour of Australasia’s official website, he expressed his pleasure in displaying a consistent performance throughout the week.
He said that he kept control over his game and did not allow his mistakes to overhaul his overall performance in the tournament.
“I didn’t lose a ball all week which was massive. ...It was just plod along, stay patient. I holed a couple of putts and before I knew it I had a three shot lead,” he said.
The overnight leader and amateur, Callan O’Reilly, in the meantime, faltered for a three-over par 75, which dragged him down to the share of the sixth position on the leaderboard.
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