The third event of the Hidden Valley Whitsundays North Queensland Series and latest in the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series saw Sam Brazel set the standard on day one but it was Mackenzie who emerged from back in the pack, he and playing partner Brett Rankin going toe-to-toe in an absorbing final day pairing.

There were 16 birdies and not a single dropped shot but it was Mackenzie who finished on top, his two-round total of 15-under par enough to finish two clear of Rankin (64) followed by William Bruyeres (66) a shot further back in third spot who went bogey free across the two rounds.

“It was great playing with Rankin today, he really helped push me along as he had seven-under par for his day,” said Mackenzie, the recent WA PGA Championship winner.

“I didn’t make many mistakes and it just kept seeming to go in the right direction.”

Rankin’s spectacular second round extended his lead in the Hidden Valley Whitsundays North Queensland Series to nine strokes, his five-round total of 29-under par establishing a sizeable buffer from Mackenzie and Douglas Klein who are at 20-under par.

The fourth and final event in the North Queensland Series is the Abbot Point Operations Bowen Pro-Am to be held on Sunday.