Edging ahead of Queensland’s Tim Hart on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series Order of Merit, Millar took advantage of pristine conditions and his trusty driver to post a winning score of 10-under 61, four clear of Brady Watt and Daniel Fox who shared second place with rounds of six-under 65.

Persistent rain made scoring challenging for the morning groups but the skies cleared in the afternoon and Millar made the most of the benign conditions.

He was six-under through six holes courtesy of four birdies and an eagle and remained bogey-free on his round, adding four further birdies to shoot 10-under and possibly set a new course record.

“I didn’t miss a fairway and obviously rolled in a few putts,” said Millar, whose recent wins include the Murray Open and Queanbeyan Open.

“If Bairnsdale isn’t the best country course in Australia it must be the best in Victoria,” Millar added.

A nine-hole junior pro-am was also held on Sunday with 25 local young golfers taking part, Millar, Fox and Watt among the pros to share the course with the youngsters.

Play had to be suspended midway through the afternoon rounds when the creek adjacent to the ninth hole burst its banks and flooded the 10th fairway entirely.

At the time play was suspended Hart was level on top at 12-under alongside Blake Collyer but with no hope of play being resumed the second round was cancelled and Hart declared the winner.

Hart had nine birdies in the opening round to be one clear of Collyer heading into the second round and began his round on Friday with three straight birdies.

Collyer had three birdies, an eagle and a bogey in the seven holes he completed on Friday but took outright second based on his eight-under 64 on Thursday.

Veterans Marcus Fraser and Matt Millar earned a share of third alongside Ben Wharton after their rounds of six-under 66 in round one, Kevin Conlong taking outright sixth with his round of five-under 67.

A winner of 12 adidas PGA Pro-Am Series events in 2021, the Traralgon victory was Hart’s first of 2022 and comes after making the cut at both the Australian PGA and Queensland PGA championships.

Click here for the final results.

Moved from its traditional weekend slot to be played on Australia Day, the Yarram Pro-Am attracted a high-quality field to the latest event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series but it was Ford who reigned supreme.

Starting from the 15th tee in the morning wave, Ford left his run late to post a score, racking up four birdies in the space of five holes late in his round to return a score of four-under 68, good enough for a one-stroke victory.

It was a much-needed boost for Ford who had qualified for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland only to have to withdraw on the Monday of tournament week when he tested positive for COVID-19.

“The last few weeks have been really tough,” Ford conceded following his one-stroke win.

“I got a start in the Australian PGA Championship for the first time only to test positive for COVID-19 on the Monday, forcing me to withdraw.

“Seven days isolation in Queensland made it even harder to cope with the disappointment.”

A prolific pro-am winner since completing his PGA traineeship at the end of 2013, Ford now hopes to use Wednesday’s win as the platform to perform well in the upcoming ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia events, starting with next week’s TPS Victoria event at Rosebud Country Club.

“I’m looking forward to getting to Rosebud next week and I’m excited to play some more TPS events this summer,” Ford said of the first of four Webex Players Series events.

“The summer is now packed with tour events which is great for all the players.

“It’s good to be back out playing after last year, that’s for sure.”

Sandbelt Invitational winner Brady Watt looked the man most likely to challenge Ford’s score of four-under but a costly double-bogey on the short par-4 17th followed by a bogey on the long par-3 18th saw him fall short.

Second spot was ultimately shared by Jarred McCosh, Matthew Buff and Tim Elliott with rounds of three-under 69, Watt, Peter Woodward and George Worrall finishing tied for fifth a shot further back.

Next event on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series is the two-day Traralgon Pro-Am Classic at Traralgon Golf Club starting Thursday, January 27.

The first adidas PGA Pro-Am Series event played at Maffra in more than a decade, a talented field boasting ussie legend Mike Harwood, 2020 Vic PGA champion Chris Wood, 2018 Queensland PGA champion Daniel Fox and local hero David Bransdon made it a return to remember.

Heavy fog produced by the steamy conditions delayed play for 15 minutes but once it lifted players were exposed to one of the best courses in country Victoria that makes it a popular destination for Melbourne golfers.

Such was the struggle McComas has been experiencing since leaving his position of Assistant Professional at Nudgee Golf Club to pursue playing full-time late last year that he scouted the Maffra layout on Monday to best prepare.

It proved a wise decision as his round of four-under 68 was the best of the day, finishing one shot clear of New South Welshman Jackson Bugdalski (69) with Wood, Bransdon, Hayden Webb and Alex Pitty one shot back in a share of third.

McComas had missed pre-qualifying at the Victorian PGA, Australian PGA and the Queensland PGA at his former home club and admitted that it took some old-fashioned hard work to rediscover some confidence.

“It’s been trying at times, but I have been putting a lot of work in on the practice range,” said McComas, who had three birdies in his opening seven holes.

“I got here early and played a practice round yesterday which was a real help around the tight layout. I knew where to go and what clubs to hit which was a big advantage.

“I put my favourite putter but in the bag at Warragul last week which has given me more confidence on the greens.

“My plan is to work towards Q-School at the end of the season and try and play as many Tour events as I can get into until then.”

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

Warragul Country Club again played host as blustery conditions and firmer playing surfaces provided players with a challenge that Walker (pictured, right) and Aylen (pictured, left) met best with rounds of four-under 67.

They finished one shot clear of fellow Victorians Bradley McGill, Andrew Kelly and Tim Elliott who each shot three-under 68, Elliott’s round highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 12th.

A PGA Associate at Peninsula Kingswood Country Club, Walker peeled off six birdies in his round of four-under 67 to set the benchmark in the morning groups and then had an anxious wait to see whether his score would hold up.

A two-time winner on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, Ash Hall (69) looked the man most likely when he made the turn in three-under while three-time European Tour winner Marcus Fraser (72) also made a strong start to be two-under early in his round.

Michael Choi (69) made an impression on the leaderboard with an eagle at the driveable par-4 sixth hole followed by a birdie at 11 but faded late with two costly bogeys.

A second year PGA Associate at Eynesbury, Aylen negotiated the difficult back nine in three-under 32 to have Walker’s total well within range but could only add the one birdie at the par-4 fourth to match Walker’s morning score of 67.

Winner of the National Associates Championship at Rich River in December that earned him a start at the Australian PGA Championship, Aylen admitted that nerves got the better of him at Royal Queensland.

“Last week (Australian PGA Championship) I was just really nervous with the bigger crowds, today it was nice to just focus on the golf,” Aylen added.

“I played the Gippsland Super 6 here in December and I was terrible. It was good to come back and play some nice golf for a change.

“I did spray it off the tee a bit today but I managed to find the other fairway and get up and down from there.”

Walker had one distinct advantage over the rest of the field, staying with the Warragul Country Club’s club captain which made his on-course arrival much simpler.

“I stayed at the club captain’s place last night who lives on the course so I got here pretty fresh this morning,” Walker revealed.

“We’re really busy at work at the moment so I’m not sure I’ll be playing much more this summer.

“I found the course today pretty tough. It had firmed up after from when we played the Gippsland Super 6 here a month ago.”

The next stop on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit is Maffra Golf Club for Tuesday’s Maffra Community Sports Club Pro-Am.

Millar, already this summer the champion of the Murray Open, carded a blemish-free five-under-par 65 to add a “home-town” three-stroke victory to his rapidly expanding resume.

The 45-year-old Canberran, sleeping in his own bed and playing a course with which he’s extremely familiar, had double-bogeyed the opening hole on day one.

But he played the next 35 holes in 10-under par and without a bogey to again show his younger rivals a clean pair of spikes.

“I just found a good groove there and made a couple of putts when I needed to,” Millar said modestly after finishing three clear of Brady Watt, James Grierson and defending champ Deyen Lawson at five-under.

“It’s good to have a fair clue of where they’re heading off the tee and then playing a few good wedges when it matters and just doing my thing, really.”

Click here for the full story.

James Grierson and Jordan Zunic share the lead at four-under after each threatened to go lower, with a host of legitimate contenders still within reach.

Hometown hero Matt Millar and in-form Sydneysider Andrew Evans are both one shot adrift and will form a bumper final foursome with the finale to be played in fourballs to avoid expected bad weather on Friday.

Hot on their heels are defending champion Deyen Lawson, Sandbelt Invitational winner Brady Watt, Nathan Barbieri, Alexander Simpson and amateur Andre Lautee, all just two shots off the lead at two-under.

Grierson, 29, came from the “unseeded” side of the morning draw, but started in blazing style with birdies on the ninth, 10th and 13th.

When the Forbes product turned and birdied the second and third holes, he threatened to blow the field away but fell back to four-under with a bogey on the testing par-three sixth.

“I’m pretty happy with that,” Grierson surmised post-round. “I’ve been here before and haven’t scored well.

“It was nice feeling to have done a few days with (coach) John Serhan and (renowned biomechanist) Ryan Lumsden and then to come out and see almost immediate improvement.

“I holed a couple of decent putts on the first two holes (ninth and 10th) and then all of a sudden you’re away.

“I’ve been working on lowering my expectations, but making my standards higher,” added Grierson, who said playing with popular club pro Jake Nagle and local amateur Matt Doyle had helped him stay at ease with a few laughs during their round.

“It’s really good to just enjoy your golf like that… it plays out well for me.”

Click here for the full story.