Without a PGA Legends Tour victory in close to two years, Stinson set the course alight with a brilliant back nine that had him 7-under with four holes to play.

A bogey at the difficult par-4 second saw Stinson finish at 6-under 65, a mark that forced Stolz to conjure a fantastic finish in order to match it.

“I thought it was playing pretty hard out there so I was surprised to see the scoring was that hot,” said Stolz.

“I said to the missus with a few holes to go, ‘How many do I have to make?’

“She said, ‘Four’ and then I went and birdied the last four.”

With matching 65s, Stinson and Stolz finished two strokes clear of Simon Tooman (67) and Chris Taylor (67) with Brad Burns fifth after a round of 3-under 68.

HOW THE WINNING ROUNDS UNFOLDED

The back nine at Easts Leisure and Golf would prove to yield the bulk of the birdies for both Stinson and Stolz.

Beginning his round from the par-3 fifth, Stinson opened with a birdie but had to wait until the par-4 10th to register his second. They came with a flurry from that point, picking up shots at 11, 13, 15, 16 and 18 to play the back nine in 6-under 29.

One-under through his first 11 holes, Stolz, too, made his score on the latter holes.

A birdie at the par-4 12th moved the current Order of Merit leader to 2-under on his round before his quartet of birdies to finish and join Stinson at 6-under par.

WHAT THE WINNERS SAID

“I think I’ve only had 29 once and that’s when I had the 59,” said Stinson.

“I had a ball. The guys with us today were so good. Funny, funny guys. Had a great time.

“I didn’t realise I had a putt to win it outright and missed it from about 10 feet.

“All in all I putted well. You’ve got to miss a few.”

“This is how it is in the shotguns, depending on where you start, you’ve got a hard stretch and an easy stretch,” added Stolz.

“The last few holes weren’t playing as hard as some of the others. I drove it great on all the into-the-wind tee shots, which were really tough.

“I actually hit some great drives on all those holes today so I’m happy.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
T1        Andre Stolz                  65
T1        Grahame Stinson         65
T3        Simon Tooman            67
T3        Chris Taylor                  67
5          Brad Burns                   68
T6        Anthony Summers       69
T6        Michael Harwood        69

NEXT UP

The Hunter swing continues on Tuesday with the Toronto Legends Pro-Am at Toronto Country Club before heading south to Wyong Golf Club on Wednesday for the Austbrokers Wyong Legends Pro-Am.