Australian Bryden Macpherson came close to winning the Cadillac Championship in 2014, but it didn’t happen. He wouldn’t be disappointed again.

Macpherson,
who began the final round trailing by two shots, broke free from a crowded
leaderboard midway through his back nine and coasted to a three-shot win over
South Korea’s Byungmin Cho.

Macpherson
put the field on notice Friday when he shot a 9-under 63, the low 18 of the
season, at Topwin Golf and Country Club.

He
followed that with rounds of 69-68 to earn his first professional title after a
celebrated amateur career in Australia and at the University of Georgia.

"I
better not play one more because there is nowhere to go from here," Macpherson
joked about his runner-up finish and his win in his last two Cadillac
Championship starts.

Macpherson
had an admittedly disappointing Web.com Tour season in 2015. He completed his
year in August, finishing 126th on the money list.

He
immediately returned to China, where he had full Series’ membership and tied
for 13th at the Ping An Bank Open two weeks ago.

His
game came together this week as he caught third-round leader Cho by the third
hole Sunday after making consecutive birdies, at the second and third.

Macpherson
rolled in a four-footer for birdie on No.2 then chipped in for birdie on his
next hole.

"I ended up just on the left-hand side of the
green," Macpherson explained.                               

"I
got up there, saw the ball and thought, this is perfect. I chipped in. It was
perfect."

He
took the lead momentarily at No. 5, after another birdie, but fell back into a
tie with Cho when he bogeyed the seventh hole after his drive left him with
"one of the worst lies I’ve ever had in my life."

Macpherson
and playing partner Cho matched birdies at No. 8, and they made the turn tied.

On
the 10th hole, Macpherson moved ahead for good, making a birdie to Cho’s par.

"I
feel really good. I played really nicely for 72 holes," said Macpherson, who
moved to sixth on the Order of Merit during a bright, sunny day at this
tournament played with the Great Wall in view.

"Every
time I started thinking about winning or my score, I would just look around at
the mountains and take it in and just enjoy it."

When
Cho bogeyed the par-5 12th, Macpherson held a two-shot lead, and despite a
hiccup bogey at the par-4 14th that reduced his lead to one, Macpherson would
take control on No. 15, a hole Macpherson called "the turning point of the
tournament."

On
the short, 327-yard par-4, Macpherson and Cho hit their drives into the same
greenside bunker.

"We
both didn’t hit the best bunker shots," Macpherson said, noting his ball landed
25 feet short, while Cho’s was 25 feet past the pin.

"He
putted first, and [Cho] actually, I think, thought he had holed it. But it just
didn’t turn at the last moment. It made me a little nervous there," Macpherson
said.

"I
hit a really good putt, one of my best putts of the week. I read it nicely, and
it went straight in the center. That was a good birdie for me, stretching my
lead to two shots with three holes to play."

The winner’s cheque this week has jumped
Macpherson to sixth on the Order of Merit with the top five at the end of the
season earning Web.com Tour status.

The three shot win was an impressive result
for the 2011 British Amateur champion who was one of only two Australians to
finish in the top 10.

Daniel Pearce was eight shots behind
Macpherson and in a share of 10^th with Jack Munro (19^th)
and Jamie Arnold and Aaron Townsend (T20) next best.

With seven events left in the PGA TOUR
China Series three Australasians are inside the top-10 on the Order of merit
with a good chance of graduating to the US.

New Zealand’s Josh Geary leads the earnings
table after two wins early this season while Peter Cooke is three places behind
Macpherson in ninth position.

Rohan Blizard, Max McCardle, Daniel Pearce
and David Lutterus are all inside the top-20.