After Mee took advantage of the calmer morning conditions at Bairnsdale Golf Club, Flynn found comfort in the country setting, recalling his days of junior golf at Middle Ridge Golf Club in Toowoomba.

Laid up for three weeks with a back injury he incurred in the second round of the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Flynn had eight birdies in his round of five-under 66 as he and Mee finished two shots clear of the field.

“It was the first time coming to Bairnsdale and playing here. It’s a beautiful little country course,” said Flynn, whose first pro-am win was in his debut event as a professional, the 2021 Schweppes Maroochy River Pro-Am.

“It reminded me a little bit of where I grew up playing at Middle Ridge in Toowoomba. Quite a tight, dog-leggy golf course and quick, bent greens.

“It felt as though it had a bit of a home feel.

“Hit all the right shots and came out with five-under.”

The talented left-hander’s best finish on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia this season is a tie for fifth at the WA Open and he hopes to use this victory as a foundation for a strong second half of the season.

“This was on the way down to the first event at Rosebud and I figured being the week before and having two pro-ams close to each other – Traralgon and here – it was a good warm-up to lead in to that nine-tournament stretch that we’ve got coming up,” said Flynn.

“I injured myself on the Sunday of Aus Open and basically had a month off playing so it’s nice to come out use this as a bit of a springboard into the tour events.

“I basically laid on my back for two-and-a-half weeks and slowly introduced a bit of gym. It was only a few weeks ago that I got a couple of rounds going.

“The body is starting to feel good now so should be right.”

With limited tour status, Mee’s immediate playing future is less clear but he too intends to use the win as a platform for bigger things.

Playing in the morning wave, Mee went bogey-free to set the mark at five-under, a score he was surprised no one bettered by day’s end.

“I didn’t think when I came in this morning that five-under was going to hold up but obviously the wind got up this arvo and I was lucky enough to get up,” said Mee of his maiden win as a professional.

He will now return home to Royal Queensland to prepare for whatever opportunities may emerge in the coming months.

“The end of last year was all a bit new to me, just learning ow everything is out there on tour. This year I came with bit more of an open mind,” said Mee, who will next tee it up at pre-qualifying for the Vic Open.

“I’ve had a bit of success in the pre-qualifying last year so this definitely adds a lot more confidence.”

Former tour winners Marcus Fraser and Simon Hawkes continued their recent good form with a share of third along with Alex Simpson at three-under 68, one clear of Andrew Kelly, Andrew Campbell and Ben Paine.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Winner at Traralgon Golf Club in 2019, Millar began the day tied with Tim Hart at the top of the leaderboard at eight-under par.

The Canberra veteran was three in front following a birdie at one and Hart’s two bogeys to start his second round although the Brisbane native would bounce back with four straight birdies from the fourth hole.

Hart’s challenge would fall away dramatically on the back nine as Millar maintained his aspiration to complete a mistake-free round.

A lone bogey at the par-4 11th would prevent him from achieving his goal of reaching 14-under but his five-under 67 and 13-under total was more than enough to finish three ahead of Simon Hawkes (69) and Andrew Kelly (68).

“I’ve had a great couple of days. Yesterday I didn’t do much wrong and today was pretty similar,” said Millar, who is now breathing down the neck of Hart on the Order of Merit.

“There was a little patch early in the back nine – holes 11 and 12 – where I was a little bit out of position. But outside of that I played really well and absolutely thrilled to win.”

Wary of not falling into the trap of engaging in a match play scenario in the final group, Millar called upon his vast experience of pro-am success to clinch the first place prize money of $5,388.

“Because of this golf course and the condition it’s in, it’s very scorable,” added Millar, who will play TPS Victoria, TPS Murray River and the Vic Open on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia in the weeks to come.

“I had a goal of getting to 14-under. I thought if I got to 14, I still could lose, but you’d be pretty stiff.

“I figured if I could get to 14 I’d give myself a good chance. There is that chance around this golf course that people can come at you but I thought if I could keep playing the way I’ve been playing, keep it fairly mistake-free I’d be a good chance of getting to 14.

“Unfortunately, I came up one short, but it was still plenty anyway.”

Staying in the Gippsland region of Victoria, the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now moves on to Bairnsdale for The Big Garage Bairnsdale Golf Club Pro-Am at Bairnsdale Golf Club on Saturday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

There were sightings of all of golf’s birdlife on Thursday with a flock of birdies, a collection of eagles and even a rare albatross with Hart making an ace at the 303-metre par-4 12th.

It was the highlight in a superb round of eight-under 64 that was matched by Millar, who eagled the par-5 16th and six birdies in his bogey-free round of 64.

They are one stroke clear of Ben Paine (65) and Simon Hawkes (65) with a further shot back to Marcus Fraser (66), Andrew Kelly (66) and Bradley Kivimets (66).

With just a week before the resumption of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, the two days at Traralgon on the Gippsland swing has proven a popular stop ahead of TPS Victoria at Rosebud Country Club.

A prolific pro-am winner renowned for his aggressive style of play, Hart said the unlikely ace – his first on a par 4 – could not have come at a better time.

“I actually got off to a bit of a bad start,” Hart lamented.

“I bogeyed my first par 5 and then didn’t have anything going for a few holes.

“The 12th is a reachable par 4 if you’re a bit brave so I thought why not give it a go and hit driver.

“You can’t see the green or anything but I hit a good shot. I walked up to the green and saw there was no golf ball anywhere. I checked over the back of the green and it wasn’t there either.

“I thought it might have clipped one of the trees and come up short and then I walked past the hole and sure enough it was in the hole.

“Managed to make a one there which was really nice and kick-started the day. I made a few birdies after that and kept it going.

“I’ve always played well here and that’s why I keep coming back.”

Another noted pro-am plunderer, Millar finished second behind Hart on the Order of Merit last season and is currently third as Hart looks to go back-to-back.

Like Hart, he is a former champion at Traralgon having won in 2019 and tapped into that sense of comfort to earn a share of the lead.

“For me, looking down a parkland country golf course and of course, when they’re in this condition – like most of the regional Victorian courses are – visually it sets it up for you,” said Millar.

“It’s always good when you feel comfortable when you look at holes.

“I love coming to Traralgon. I had that win and been close on a couple of other occasions so certainly love coming here.”

The second round of the Traralgon Latrobe City WIN Network Pro-Am Classic tees of at 7.30am on Friday morning with the lead groups to start from the first tee from 1pm.

Click here for Round 1 scores.

Click here for Round 2 draw.

Continuing the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series swing through Victoria’s Gippsland region, Wood followed on from last week’s share of victory at Neangar Park with a one-shot win from Ben Ferguson (66) with Brock Gillard (67) a further shot back in third.

Starting from the 18th tee, it took only until the par-4 first for Wood to notch the first of six birdies in his round of five-under 65, his only dropped shot coming at the par-3 15th.

As he gears up for the recommencement of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia next Thursday at TPS Victoria, Wood is revelling in the conditions being presented by the country courses.

“Coming from Queensland, it’s always a pleasure to come down here,” said the 2021 Victorian PGA champion.

“Even the country courses are always a pleasure to putt on. Definitely finding some similarities out there on the greens for sure.

“First time playing the course today, really enjoyed how the greens were rolling and really enjoyed the layout as well.

“Mixture of short par 4s and gettable par 5s which made for a lot of chances for birdies out there.”

Third at the WA Open and quarter-finalist at Gippsland Super 6, Wood is currently 14th on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

With nine events left in the season he is confident in his game coming out of the Christmas break.

“Game’s slowly coming back together after a bit of a break over Christmas and New Year,” he said.

“Just keep doing what I’m doing and try and sharpen up before the tour events start.

“I’m always trying to keep the scorecard fairly clean and limit the mistakes. I find around these courses you’ve got to chip and putt well and that’s what I’ve done the last couple of days.”

Portsea Golf Club professional Bradley Kivimets finished tied with Marcus Fraser for fourth with a round of two-under 68 with seven players tied for sixth at one-under 69.

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now moves on to Traralgon Golf Club for the two-day Traralgon Latrobe City WIN Network Pro-Am Classic starting Thursday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

A winner by two strokes at Yarram Golf Club on Sunday, Michel made birdie at three of his opening four holes to put the rest of the field on notice.

He added an eagle at the par-5 fifth and birdies at eight and 10 but bogeys at two of his final three holes saw him drop back to five-under 67 and level with Ferguson and Hawkes.

Eyeing off a third straight win in the Gippsland region at Trafalgar on Tuesday, Michel said he fell foul of the tricky nature of the Maffra layout.

“I haven’t been here before and didn’t know what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised how good it is,” Michel said.

“There are a few tricky holes and if you don’t know exactly where you’re going it can catch you out.”

Like Michel, it was a second Gippsland win in short order for Ferguson.

The WA native was victorious at the Gippsland BMW Warragul Country Club Pro-Am little more than a week ago and hopes to take his pro-am form into the second half of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season.

“I like the Gippsland courses it seems. I’ve had a few of my better results here,” said Ferguson, who was runner-up at the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie.

“I’ve never seen the course before but I got to play with Tiger and Jock and they gave me a few good lines.

“Hopefully I can keep finding some form and peak for the TPS events.”

Hawkes was making his first start of 2023 after a mishap on his journey across the Tasman.

A midnight departure on the Spirit of Tasmania meant that Hawkes missed the Yarram Pro-Am, making up for lost time with six birdies and one bogey in his round of 67.

“Unfortunately I missed yesterday but that extra day off might have been the extra motivation I needed to get it done today,” said the 2018 Vic Open champion.

“I’ve never seen the golf course before but I got a pretty good guide from the ‘ams’ (amateurs).

“It’s right up there as one of the better courses that Greater Gippsland has to offer. A lot of the metro courses all around Australian would love these fairways, they’re incredible condition.

“It’s a testament to the community and how much they support their club.”

In a tight leaderboard there was a four-way tie for fourth between David Bransdon, Andrew Kelly, Matthew Portelli and Kris Mueck at four-under 68.

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule is the Community Bank Trafalgar and District Pro-Am at Trafalgar Golf Club on Tuesday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

A product of Shepparton, Michel was runner-up at the Gippsland Super 6 prior to Christmas and was tied for third at the Yarram pro-am two years ago.

He had to miss the 2022 event due to contracting COVID but picked up where he left off, peeling off six birdies in his final 10 holes to post seven-under 65 and finish two clear of Steven Jones (67) and Heritage Pro-Am champion Ben Ferguson (67).

While he finished with a flurry of birdies, Michel pointed to his start from the 14th tee for setting up the win.

“I got off to a pretty good start on what I thought was a tough stretch to start,” Michel said.

“I was able to make a lot of birdies in the back-end of my round and all in all pretty happy with it.

“The last couple of years I’ve played the pro-ams and the events down here and I really like the golf courses.

“Being a country golfer, it suits my game.

“I enjoy coming back here to Yarram. I wasn’t able to come here last year because I had COVID but the year before I had a good result here.”

Although he went down to Tom Power Horan in the final, Michel’s runner-up result at the Gippsland Super 6 will impact his starts in the second half of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season.

Currently 26th on the Order of Merit, Michel is hoping to carry the form he showed on Sunday into the remaining events of the season.

“The goal is to finish as high as possible,” Michel said of his Order of Merit hopes.

“I was lucky enough to move up the re-rank after the Gippsland Super 6 so I’ll get some starts in some tournaments I probably would not have got into previously.

“I just want to make the most of that.”

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Tied for third behind Lucas Herbert and Chris Wood at Neangar Park the day prior, Martin’s start was a long way from what would be expected of the eventual champion.

He began the day with a double bogey at Axedale’s par-3 opening hole and then dropped to three-over through as many holes with a further dropped shot at the short par-4 third.

A two-putt birdie after finding the green with his tee shot at the par-4 fifth would prove to be the catalyst in an impressive comeback, adding an eagle at seven and posting birdies at eight, 10, 12, 13, 16 and 17 in a round of five-under 64.

“I got off to a bit of a shaky start with a double and a bogey on the third so it wasn’t the best start around Axedale,” Martin conceded.

“I don’t know what clicked. I hit a good drive on five onto the green and two-putted that and that kick-started the day for me really.

“For me now it’s full steam ahead and getting ready for the start of the year and the Tour events.”

Martin was a two-stroke winner from fellow Victorians Ben Wharton (66) and Ryan Lynch (66) and now intends to carry the momentum of the past two days into the second half of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season.

Victory at the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links at top-10 finishes at the Australian Open and WA PGA Championship sees Martin sit in second spot behind David Micheluzzi on the adjusted Order of Merit.

There are DP World Tour cards on offer for the top three finisher’s at season’s end but Martin and coach Darren Cole are setting their sights on an even higher goal.

“We’ve spoken about that, thinking bigger,” said Martin, who will spend time with Cole at the two-day Traralgon Latrobe City WIN Network Pro-Am Classic next week.

“Top three would be good but I’m not going to rule out trying to take out the Order of Merit which would be a good feather in the cap.

“That carrot’s there. I’m in a position now where I’ve had some really good results at the end of last year – the last 18 months actually has been pretty good. I’m at a point now where I feel like I can compete in most events and finish well.

“I’m just going to focus on playing good golf and let the rest take care of itself.”

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule is the Purgar Paving Yarram Pro-Am at Yarram Golf Club on Sunday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

The course where he first began playing the game, Herbert had eight birdies and an eagle in his round of seven-under 64 to match Queenslander Chris Wood at Neangar Park Golf Club near Bendigo.

Given his history at the golf club Herbert drew a large gallery to a rare homecoming, tuning up for another hectic season across both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR with a confidence-boosting performance.

Disappointed in his performance with the driver in 2022, Herbert put the work he and Azzopardi have undertaken into practice and liked what he saw ahead of his DP World Tour season debut at the Dubai Desert Classic from January 26.

“It was good today to get a scorecard in the pocket and see how that felt when it mattered and I felt like I did that really well,” said Herbert, adding that holiday “parmas at the pub” are now on hold.

“There are areas of my game a long way in front of where I expected them to be but there’s still a lot of room for cleaning it up and improving it going into the season out there on tour.”

Herbert will stay in the area to play the Axedale Pro-Am on Friday, grateful for the support he received not only in his adidas PGA Pro-Am Series cameo but throughout the year.

“That was the good thing about being home. I got to see everyone that you don’t really get to see during the year,” Herbert said.

“Everyone is wishing you well for the upcoming 12 months. I know the community follows me a lot so I know it’s important for them to come back and see me and I feel the same way.

“It was good to see the course in great condition and the familiarity was a big help today.”

Winner of the Vic PGA two years ago, Wood is building towards a big finish to the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season.

Currently 14th on the Order of Merit, Wood paid particular attention to his approach shots at Neangar Park, rewarded with a seven-birdie bogey-free round.

“The goal at the start of the day was to make no bogeys because I’ve been making a lot of bogeys lately,” said Wood, who will restart his season at TPS Victoria on January 26.

“I just tried to focus a bit more with my numbers hitting into the greens. I’ve been getting off the tee and chipping and putting well but I just had to focus a bit more with my shots into the green and hit numbers.”

Another Neangar Park local, Andrew Martin (65), finished one stroke back of Herbert and Wood in a share of third with Euan Walters (65). Kyle Michel (66) and Ben Paine (66) rounded out the top five.

The next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the Symes Motors BMW Axedale Pro-Am at Axedale Golf Club on Friday.

Click here for final scores and prize money.

Winner of the Murray Open almost two years ago, Armstrong was cruising towards a comfortable Western Open victory before a drama-fuelled final three holes saw the tournament decided on the 18th green.

Leading Newcastle’s Aaron Townsend by four strokes after making eagle at the par-5 10th, Armstrong dropped his guard for just a moment with a bogey on 11.

Townsend’s birdie resulted in a two-shot swing and a deficit of just two, a deficit that was halved again when Townsend made a fourth consecutive birdie at the par-5 12th.

The pair traded pars at 13, 14 and 15 where James Conran’s birdie saw him join Townsend at nine-under and just one stroke off the lead.

There was a second two-shot swing at the par-4 16th where Townsend’s birdie and Armstrong’s bogey after taking an unplayable lie saw the lead change hands for the first time all day, leaving Armstrong with one shot to make up with just two holes to play.

“I knew I had to make at least one birdie out of the last two holes. It was going to be difficult obviously, but it could be done,” Armstrong reasoned.

His tee shot on 17 was sent so far to the right that he played his second from beside the greenkeeper’s shed, a par save from six-feet keeping his fading hopes alive until the last.

He and Townsend both found the green with their tee shots at the 174-metre par-3 18th but not even Armstrong could have predicted what would unfold.

“They’re both good players so I was expecting them to make 3s and I’d have to hole mine to get into a playoff,” Armstrong said of his 18-foot birdie putt that would ultimately prove the difference.

“When I saw Aaron roll his past a little firm I thought now was a good time to put a little bit of pressure on.

“Thankfully I hit exactly the putt I wanted to and it dropped in for me.

“I didn’t think that Aaron was going to three-putt or that Jimmy was going to make bogey.”

The third two-shot swing in the space of eight holes was enough for Armstrong (69, pictured with Dubbo Local Member Dugald Saunders) to claim a one-stroke win at 10-under, Townsend (68) sharing second place with Matt Millar (65) and Jordan Mullaney (68).

Conran (71) was outright fifth, one stroke clear of James Mee (70), Corey Lamb (66), Matthew Stieger (70), Jason Perkin (70) and Jackson Bugdalski (70).

There was a consolation for both Townsend and Conran who, along with Mullaney, secured their place in the $400,000 Play Today NSW Open at Rich River in March.

Click here for final scores and prize money.