Andrew Stewart (Omokoroa) looked to have slipped from contention in the Taieri Classic after carding 75 and 79 in the first two rounds on Saturday, but he bounced back with rounds of 69 and 68 yesterday to secure the win.
The leading quartet all fell away in the final round, with Brent McEwan (St Clair) carding 79, Duncan Croudis (Otago), 76, Stephen Hitchcox (St Clair), 74, and Thomas Facer (Otago), 78, allowing Stewart (19) to take the title.
He finished one shot ahead of Croudis and Hitchcox, who were tied for second on 292.
Stewart has recently returned from Korea, where he represented New Zealand in an amateur tournament, and he struggled with his short game during the first two rounds.
Once he became accustomed to the Taieri greens, he was able to record a 7-under-par score yesterday.
Croudis and Hitchcox took the first-round lead with 70 each, while McEwan and Mark Andrews (Taieri) opened with par rounds of 72.
McEwan took the lead at the halfway stage with 70 in the afternoon and retained a one-shot lead over Croudis going into the final round.
At this stage, Stewart was eight shots off the pace but he carded 68 in the final round to romp up the leaders board, while those above him all shot above par to see their chances fade.
