The lefthander posted a 4-under-par 67 in the morning wave which Rankin matched late in the day to collect his second win of the week.

There was a three-way tie for lead at -4 with Rankin and fellow Queenslander Brad Kennedy still with three holes to play in their afternoon rounds, and Flynn waiting patiently in the clubhouse.

Kennedy, who made his PGA Legends Tour debut earlier this week, dropped a shot on his 16th hole, the par-4 ninth, to lose his share of top spot.

He ended in a share of third at 3-under with the joint winner at Bulimba on Thursday, Victorian Cameron John, and NSW’s Lucas Higgins.

Defending champion James Conran (NSW) made a late charge with three birdies in four holes on the back nine only to double-bogey the par-4 17th.

Rankin’s week, which included a solo win at Brisbane River on Monday, has lifted him to the No.1 spot on the national Order of Merit. He also heads the Queensland Order of Merit.

HOW THE WINNERS’ ROUNDS UNFOLDED

Enjoying a strong driving day, Flynn mixed in two birdies with a bogey in his first seven holes and was still at 1-under when he dropped a shot at the par-3 second. But he surged late, picking up three shots in his final four holes.

Starting his round on the 10th, Rankin made the turn at 2-under and then joined Flynn on -4 with back-to-back birdies to kick off his front nine. Seven straight pars closed out his day.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

Flynn: “I just seemed to hit it in all the right spots, didn’t really do too much amazing. There’s some big slopes on these greens which can lead to some tricky downhill putts where you’re defensive all day. Even though I made those couple of bogeys, I was pretty comfortable I’d come in with a decent score.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN

67: Lawry Flynn (Qld), Brett Rankin (Qld)

68: Cameron John (Vic), Brad Kennedy (Qld), Lucas Higgins (NSW)

69: Ed Donoghue (Vic), Toby Walker (Vic), Will Florimo (Vic), Michael Sim (Qld), Nathan Barbieri (NSW)

NEXT UP

The first of six NSW Open Golf Regional Qualifying Events will be held over 36 holes at South West Rocks Country Club this weekend.