On a thrilling final day at Coffs Harbour Golf Club, where the lead changed hands several times, the Queenslander held his nerve when he needed it at the end, rifling a 7-iron from 168 metres to about 14 feet on the par-5 17th before binning the eagle putt to draw level at 9-under-par with clubhouse leader Cameron John with a hole to play.

“It was pretty close coming down the stretch,” a delighted Rankin (65-66) said.

“Walking off the 16th (green) I knew nine-under was in the clubhouse, so I knew birdie-birdie finish, or potentially an eagle, and who knows what was going to happen.”

“Luckily, I hit two quality shots into 17 and made a good 14-footer for eagle.”

After Rankin parred the last, the duo headed back down the 18th to decide the champion. John had earlier birdied the finale as the last of five straight birdies to finish with a second round 64.

Rankin only needed one hole in the end, making birdie to seal the tournament and the lion’s share of the $50,000 purse.

“You never know what could happen in a playoff,” Rankin added.

After playing peerless golf all day, John made it difficult to win from the outset of the playoff. Missing the fairway left from the tee, he was forced to hit a creative bump and run to get onto the front edge of the green.

Rankin, meanwhile, had put himself into the perfect position to attack from the tee. Thankfully for Rankin, John’s predicament meant the more conservative path home was all that was required.

“I knew where (John) was. There was no guarantee of a two-putt, so I thought the smartest play was to hit a wedge and skipping it in.

“I played it perfectly, and as soon as I hit it, I was like, ‘if that’s not good, then I’m not good enough.'”

And good enough it was, nestling just short of the flag, leaving Rankin almost the same putt he had in regulation for the win.

After John lagged his long-range birdie effort to about a metre, Rankin made no mistake with his 7-footer to claim victory.

Along with the win, Rankin, who had to return to Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School earlier this year, also sealed his place in the $800,000 NSW Open at Murray Downs Golf and Country Club from November 14-17.

A two-time winner on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series last week, Rankin said locking his spot up in the NSW Open this early in the Australian season would be a blessing, saying it would allow him to take some time off and rest up before the big events towards the end of the year.

“I can take a few weeks off now and rest up and get ready for the PNG Open,” he said.

“I plan to go to Asian Q School, so I’m looking forward to a big end of the year.

“My game’s in a good spot right now, so looking forward to it.”

Qualifying for the NSW Open alongside Rankin were Bathurst’s Dylan Thompson and Queenslander Sam Slater.

The NSW Regional Open Golf Qualifying Series is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

NEXT UP

The next event in the NSW Open Golf Regional Qualifying Series will begin at Teven Valley Golf Course on August 9, with three more spots up for grabs in this year’s championship. 

LEADERBOARD

-9: Brett Rankin (Qld)*, Cameron John (Vic)

-8: Kyle Michel (Vic), Andrew Kelly (Vic)

-7: Austin Bautista (NSW), Matias Sanchez (Vic), Blake Proverbs (Qld)

-6: Sam Slater (Qld), Dylan Thompson (NSW)

-5: Daniel Gale (NSW), Christopher Wood (Qld), John Lyras (NSW), Gavin Fairfax (Qld)