With dramatic changes in elevation and strong winds buffeting the course throughout the 29 PGA Professionals in the field needed full control of their shots, Jeffress finishing one shot clear with a brilliant round of 6-under 66.

Making the turn at 3-under, Jeffress fell back into the pack with dropped shots at the par-3 11th and par-4 13th. Yet he was able to recover in spectacular fashion, birdies at 14 and 16 and an eagle at the par-5 15th vaulting him to the top of the leaderboard.

“It was tough out there today,” said the 2014 Fiji International winner.

“The wind was very difficult to read in some places but I managed to hit the right shots at the right time.”

The win was Jeffress’s first since the 2019 Wynnum Pro-Am and a timely confidence booster ahead of the run of adidas Pro-Am Series events coming up in south-east Queensland.

Finishing one shot behind Jeffress was Legends Tour player Adam Henwood and Australasian Tour rookie Nathan Barbieri with a score of 5-under 67.

Tied for seventh at the Golf Challenge New South Wales Open in March, it was another top-five finish on the pro-am circuit for Barbieri over recent weeks and inches him closer and closer to a breakthrough win.

“I feel like my game is in a good place right now and I know my first win isn’t far away,” said the 24-year-old.

It was a wild ride for Shae Wools-Cobb as he started with an eagle and had three birdies on the trot late in his round of 4-under 68, good enough to share fourth spot with Jay Mackenzie who went bogey-free across his 18 holes.

The next event on the adidas Pro-Am Series is the BMD Gympie Pro-Am on Sunday.