Aaron Cox has secured his maiden victory on the PGA Pro-Am Series, taking out the Tusker Vanuatu Open at Port Vila Golf Club.
Aaron Cox has secured his maiden victory on the PGA Pro-Am Series, taking out the Tusker Vanuatu Open at Port Vila Golf Club.
Making his seventh appearance in Vanuatu, the Certified PGA Professional from Gardiners Run in Victoria finished the 12-under the card to finish one shot clear of New Zealander, Pieter Zwart.
Heading into the final round, only one shot separated Zwart and RJ Caracella however Cox made his intentions clear early in the round with opening with a birdie.
Cox’s rounds of 69,67,71,69 saw him as the only player to shoot under par all four days.
"I felt really comfortable with my game all week," said Cox.
"The big difference this week is that I stayed in the moment and stuck to my game plan better than I have in the past. I remained positive even when I hit poor shots," he added.
Rounding out the top-5 where Caracella with 6-under, Ricky Schmidt on 3 under and Ryan Bernard on 1-under. Tournament favourite and four-time champion Brad McIntosh left himself to much to do with a 5 over 77 in the opening round.
Even with his good play on the weekend, McIntosh could only manage a 3-over total for the week which saw him finish outright 6th.
Local amateur Joseph Matuatu took out the amateur title with an impressive 2-under the card total.
After an absence on the PGA Pro-Am Series due to the devastating Cyclone Pam in 2015, Tournament Director Bryan Death praised the efforts of the local community, the organising committee and the Professionals for making the tournament such a success.
"We’re very proud of the event and love the fact that we have so many players that continue to come back each year. We will continue to build on this year’s success and hope to make the event even bigger again next year," said Death
The Vanuatu Open concludes the South Pacific swing events for 2016.
Played at the Port Vila Golf Club, the Vanuatu Open attracts players from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia.