The Queenslander carded a 3-under-par 67 to go with his open round course record 63 at Coffs Harbour Golf Club for a two-round total of 10-under.

Victorian Deyen Lawson finished in outright second place at 6-under, while Marcus Fraser and Matthew Millar shared third place a further shot back at 5-under.

After starting the final round with a share of the lead alongside Lawson, the tournament soon became an open affair when Quayle made a double on the third to gift Lawson an early lead.

It didn’t take long for the Queenslander to recover, and birdies on the par-five 6th and par-three 8th, were enough for the eventual champ to turn for home with his lead intact.

With the skies threatening to open up at any time and birdies hard to come by, it appeared the Coffs Harbour course was going to get the better of the field.

It was Quayle’s day, however, and when he turned for home, the fireworks began. 

Birdies on the 11 and 13th stretched his lead to four, and when Quayle rifled his second shot to the par-five 14th, a nine iron from 157 metres to four feet, the lead was six, and the tournament was as good as over.

A bogey on the 16th was soon erased with a birdie on the next, and with a comfortable five-shot lead walking up the last, Quayle’s second bogey of the day meant the finish was all academic in the end.

“I felt really good going into today and into this event to be honest,” Quayle said after the win.

“I played pretty nice really. I made a double on our third, and I didn’t hole a lot of putts early, but got hot midway through the round, and started to hole a lot. 

“Apart from the double I think I played pretty flawless golf.”

While Quayle was thrilled with the win, his second in 2020, he added he was just glad to be back playing competition golf again, adding that the forced break from competition had helped him re-assess some of life’s priorities.

“The break (COVID) has given me a new outlook on how I approach the game,” he said.

“I’ve played since I was seven, and I don’t think I have ever had longer than a three-week break since.

“It’s your life, and over this stretch here I’ve gained a little bit of perspective that while golf is important, it’s not everything.”

“It’s allowed me to be a little more fatalistic. If it goes my way, it goes my way. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

Although new to the schedule in 2020, the North Coast Open has an honour roll which includes the names some of the greats of the game, including Gary Player, Kel Nagle, Norman Von Nida, Bruce Crampton and Bill Dunk. 

Quayle was thrilled to know his name would be alongside theirs.

“This is cool,  Very cool,” he smiled.

“You grow up watching those guys, seeing what they do, and think it is almost unattainable.

“Then to be able to see my name on the same trophy as them is pretty special.”

For their efforts, Canberra’s Matthew Millar, Queensland’s Kade Mc Bride and Ballina’s Jay Mackenzie have secured their place in the field for the $400,000 NSW Open at Concord Golf Club from 25th -28th March 2021.

View the final North Coast Open leaderboard at pga.org.au.

Images: David Teases, GolfNSW