Following a dominant run through North Queensland and the Onsite Rental Group Mining Town Series Hart picked up where he left off, firing seven birdies and two bogeys in his 5-under 65 to join Higgins at the top.

Tied for the lead with two holes to play, Hart bogeyed the difficult par-3 17th before his customary last-hole heroics saw him make birdie to tie Higgins.

A two-time winner of the Gary Player Classic and member of the Golf NSW High Performance squad, Higgins earned his PGA Tour of Australasia card at Moonah Links in April and turned promising results across the Mining Towns Series into a breakthrough professional victory.

“It feels good to get a win so early in my career,” said the 22-year-old from Murwillumbah Golf Club on the New South Wales north coast.

“I played well through the Mining Towns Series and I knew I wasn’t far away from getting a win.”

Starting the day on the 10th hole, Higgins got off to a slow start with an early bogey on the 11th hole but hit straight back with birdies on 12 and 13.

There was another dropped shot at the par-4 14th but a birdie on 18 saw him make the turn at 1-under.

Back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes and an eagle two on his penultimate hole, the 307-metre par-4 eighth, gave Higgins a 5-under total that only one player could match.

Hart has now extended his lead on the adidas Pro-Am Series Order of Merit with the next event the Pacific GWM-Haval Tin Can Bay Pro-Am on Tuesday July 6.