Queenslander Daniel Nisbet has won the Morobe Open following a three hole playoff in Papua New Guinea.

Starting the
final round with a two shot lead over Tim Hart and Sean Riordan, Nisbet
struggled to get going on the opening nine holes.

Nisbet came
through the turn at 2-over the card and found himself four shots off the pace.  

Fellow
Queensland young gun Tim Hart had capitalised on his early opportunities to be
4-under the card and leading the field heading to the back nine.

Nisbet found
a momentum shift on the 10^th where he made birdie while Hart
struggled with a bogey.

Playing
steady golf through the middle of the back nine, Hart had a costly three putt,
after driving the green, on the par-4 15^th while a birdie for Nisbet
saw Hart’s lead diminish to just one shot.

With the
pressure now on Hart he failed to get up and down on the 17^th and headed
to the final hole tied for the lead with Nisbet on 13-under the card.

When Hart’s
approach to the par-5 18^th hole finished just six feet from the
flag, Nisbet responded by draining a 25 foot birdie putt to post a tournament
total of 14-under 270.

"It was a
left to right putt and knowing Tim was in there close, I just wanted to give it
a chance to go in. When it went in though it was a bit surreal – one of the
moments you only dream about," said Nisbet.    

With the
pressure on, Hart holed his putt to join Nisbet at 14-under the card and force
a playoff.

Playing holes
10, 11 and 18, the lowest aggregate score would decide the 2015 Morobe Open
champion.

The playoff
went down to the wire with both players making birdie on the 10^th
and 11^th. The 18^th once again becoming the pivotal hole
in the tournament.

With a large
crowd watching on, Hart missed the green with his third shot but managed to get
up and down to save par.

Nisbet nailed
his eight foot birdie putt to claim his first pro-am victory on international
soil.  

"I have been thinking about winning my first
four round professional tournament for so long, and it is everything I ever
imagined it would be," added Nisbet.

"It’s my first
time to PNG, I really didn’t have any idea what to expect but I was really pleasantly
surprised at the course."

"More
importantly the great hospitality the people has shown us this week has been
second to none."

Both Hart and
Nisbet are coached by 2013 QLD PGA Teaching Professional of the Year Richard
Woodhouse.

"Richard has
been a great support both on and off the course and we have made some good
progress over recent months," said Nisbet.

"I have been
working on some better hip movement on my down swing and under pressure today
it really held up well."

"Finishing 9^th
at last year’s Australian Open was probably the difference out there today. I
certainly drew from what was the most pressure I had ever been under at the
time and I have no doubt it helped to get across the line today".

Nisbet takes
home more than AU$20,000 for his efforts, the lion’s share of the AU$110,000
prize money.

This victory
has also taken him to the top of both the Choice Hotels PGA Pro Am Series
Sunshine Swing Order of Merit and the PGA’s National Rankings.

The
Professionals now head to the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club for next week’s AU$152,250
South Pacific Export Papua New Guinea Open.

Tour Pros
Steven Jeffress, Paul Spargo, Josh Younger and Ryan Lynch will join the strong line-up
in PNG for what is an opportunity to win a national open.

The Sunshine
Swing forms part of the Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series which comprises of 200
events Australia wide and the Asia Pacific region.

Played across
more than 170 golf courses the Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series plays an
important part in the development of Australia’s Professional Golfers whilst
also growing the game at a grass roots level by engaging an estimated 48,000
amateur golfers each year.