The only player to shoot under-par rounds on the Captains Course on each of the four days, Campbell (71-71-68-71) finished on 7-under-par to beat fellow Victorian Tony Walker by a shot, with Queensland’s Drew Herbert a further stroke behind in third place.

A first year associate professional from The Sands Torquay, Campbell has made the switch to the Membership Pathway Program after experiencing life as a Tour pro and as a college player in the United States.

He was the third-round leader by one, but made a horror start to his final round, stumbling to a double-bogey on the par-4 first hole followed by a bogey at the par-3 second.

However he picked up a birdie at the fourth before holing out for an eagle at the par-4 fifth and gaining another shot at the sixth.

Walker, a former Tasmanian Open champion now based at Yarramat Park Golf Course, challenged with three consecutive birdies on the back nine but had his challenge thwarted by a bogey at the par-4 16th.

It wasn’t the eagle that was at the forefront of Campbell’s mind post-round. He was quick to look back on a hole-out from a bunker for a birdie on the par-3 17th that was pivotal to him securing the win.

“That allowed me to go two ahead of Toby. It was a pretty wild round really,” the 27-year-old said.

“Holing out on the fifth got me settled into the round.

“Playing 72-hole Tour events in the past really helped me to stay patient, knowing it would be a long week and there’d be some ups and downs.”

Campbell says he has always had an interest in golf coaching and decided to head down that career path after trying out Tour life.

“It’s been really seamless. I’m really enjoying it and where I’m at,” he said.

“I’m not sure if I’ll back to the Tour or not. We’ll just see how the rest of the year plays out.”

Leaderboard

-7: Ben Campbell (Vic) 71-71-68-71

-6: Toby Walker (Vic) 69-69-73-71

-5: Drew Herbert (Qld) 73-68-72-70

-4: Joseph Hodgson (SA) 78-67-68-71

-2: Levi Sclater (Vic) 70-73-71-72

-1: Daniel Gill (Vic) 71-72-68-75; Lachlan Chamberlain (ACT) 75-70-72-70; Ryan Thomas (Tas) 74-72-73-68