Peter Cooke has won the 2019 SP PNG Open after an impressive performance at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club in Papua New Guinea.

In his first appearance at the tournament, Cooke started the day with a two-shot lead before going on to win the title by two shots from Jack Wilson with rounds of 71, 65, 64 and 70 for a tournament total 18-under 270.

“I didn’t watch any scores through the whole round today so I didn’t really have any idea where I was at when playing the last few holes,” said Cooke.

“Obviously we had the scoreboard for our group but I kind of had to wait until I’d holed the last putt and just judge by the reaction of everyone and ask a few officials. Once I got the okay and all clear, it was awesome, I’m stoked.”

Winning the SP PNG Open marks Cooke’s maiden win on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia after finishing runner-up at the WA PGA Championship in 2014.

“It’s awesome,” said Cooke. “I’ve obviously waited a long time. It’s what I live for, I love golf and I’ve always wanted to be a pro.

“This justifies a lot of hard work that I’ve put into the game so it’s so satisfying and such a great feeling.”

Maintaining his lead for the duration of the fourth round, an eagle on the par-5 8^th hole helped to extend Cooke’s lead with birdies on the 12^th and 13^th holes helping to seal his fate.

“That was awesome,” Cooke said of the eagle. “I had that putt earlier in the week and left it short. This time I thought, don’t leave it short this time and when it rolled in the middle I was like, you beauty, we’re off, so it was a great momentum getter.”

Holding a four-shot lead on two occasions in the final round, the competition closed in as the tournament came to its conclusion with runner-up Jack Wilson firing three birdies in a row from holes 14 to 16 to bring the margin down to two shots.

Admitting the nerves crept in as he played the final few holes, Cooke was pleased he was able to maintain his composure to close out the tournament.

“The last two holes I bogeyed and I had just two bad distances,” Cooke added.

“I had to kind of choose the long club or the short club and just made a couple of uncommitted swings.

“I honestly was just thinking to myself, ‘don’t do anything silly, and just play smart golf. I don’t have to force anything, I’ve got a couple shot lead’.

“I didn’t let anything get to me for the whole day. Probably just closing the tournament for the first time I might’ve let a few things get to me but I just wanted to stay patient, play some quality shots and I felt like I did that.”

Cooke’s maiden win secures the South Australian an exemption on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2020 season and opens doors around the world.

“It’s very rewarding and now I know I have what it takes to win,” Cooke continued.

“There are a few things I’ve been working on with my coach Daniel Blackwell, to see them work under pressure was awesome.

“Without sounding too cliché it’s really just part of the process but it’s going to give me some good groups in the tournaments coming up at the end of the year.

“With the exemption that you get from it now I can probably have a look at a Japanese Q-School or something like that. It’s exciting.”

Praising the condition of the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club course, Cooke enjoyed the experience in the heat of Papua New Guinea.

“My friends that have played here told me ‘you should go and play, the golf course suits you’ and my first impressions of the week were wow this place is pretty narrow,” said Cooke.

“As I played a couple of times I got a bit more comfortable with it and a lot of the landing zones suited my eye so it probably does suit me pretty well. I felt pretty comfy out there.

“It was tricky, they put some tougher flags out there and with those pin positions when I got to 4-under for the day I thought it was going to be hard for anyone to go low and it turns out that’s what happened.”

A tournament total of 16-under the card secured second place for Jack Wilson, while a very competitive Jordan Mullaney tied for third place alongside Kade McBride at 14-under the card.

Dale Brandt-Richards, Brady Watt and Blake Proverbs tied for fifth position at 13-under the card.

For final results from the SP PNG Open please visit pga.org.au.

With his win, Peter Cooke moves to 21^st on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. For the full standings please visit pga.org.au.

The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia will be back in action at the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship in the Northern Territory from 22-25 August, 2019.

For the full schedule please visit pga.org.au.

Peter Cooke has rocketed out to a two-shot lead at the SP PNG Open after firing 8-under 64 in the third round at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club.

Starting the day tied for fourth position on 8-under the card, two eagles, five birdies and a lone bogey on the 10^th hole saw Cooke move to a three-round total of 16-under.

Firing eagles on the par-5 9^th and par-5 15^th, the second was the shot of the day for the South Australian.

“On the 9^th hole I hit into the middle of the fairway, slightly into the wind,” said Cooke.

“It was a tricky little shot actually, there was an overhanging tree just off the fairway and I hit this gorgeous little cut under the tree and it fed towards the flag. I holed about a 15-footer there so that was really satisfying.

“The 15^th though was awesome. I was down the left side and blocked out by the trees and just hit this big high cut over the trees and it went to 6-feet.

“It was easily the shot of the day, it was just good fun. That really kept the round going.”

Eagles popped up across the leadboard in round three with second-placed Jack Wilson and big-hitter Lincoln Tighe placing themselves amongst the front-runners thanks to eagles on the par-5 9^th.

Overnight leader Steven Jeffress joined Wilson in second place on 14-under the card, with a steady front-9 and birdies on the back-9 keeping him towards the top of the leaderboard.

Tighe also recorded an eagle on the par-4 11^th to take his round three total to 8-under to tie for fifth position alongside Daniel Fox, while Jordan Mullaney completed round three in fourth place at 13-under.

Not accustomed to holding the lead heading into the final round of an ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia tournament, Cooke believes there will be no added pressure come Sunday if he maintains his relaxed attitude.

“I reckon this is probably the first time coming into a final round or maybe even a second that I’ve lead,” added Cooke.

“It’s no different to if you’re second or third really, I’ve just got to play good golf tomorrow. It’s a nice feeling to know that my golf’s been good enough to get me to where I am.

“It doesn’t hurt being up the top. You’ve obviously got a shot or few ahead of the guys that have to chase you down.

“There might be a little bit of a banner there that you’ve got to perform but I’m pretty fine at the top. If you just let the golf do the talking then whatever happens, happens.”

In the three-year history of the SP PNG Open, two finals have resulted in a playoff with Brad Moules and Cory Crawford coming out on top in the 2016 and 2017 tournaments.

In 2019, Cooke wouldn’t be fazed if it came down to a playoff between him and another player on the 18^th hole but insists he will aim for the outright lead on Sunday.

“I would probably enjoy it, whoever I would have to be in a playoff with or if that happened,” said Cooke.

“I’m sure the crowd would be around and it would be buzzing so the atmosphere would be awesome. I’d probably prefer to have a one-shot lead and knock it in for the win though.”

Keeping to his tournament routine has been key for Cooke who says his preparation will remain the same ahead of the final round.

“I’ll definitely go and hit a few balls and a few putts, the same as I’ve done for the last three days just to keep my feels in check with what I’ve been doing,” said Cooke at the conclusion of the third round.

“I’ll probably go to the gym tomorrow morning like I’ve been doing every morning. I won’t really change a thing. It’s obviously working so I’ll stick to the same thing.”

Once again grouped with Jack Wilson on course, Cooke has made the most of his first time in Papua New Guinea.

“It’s my first time here. I’ve been told by a lot of friends from home who have played this tournament to come up, that the course would suit me and that I’d enjoy it and so far it’s been nothing short of what they’ve said so it’s been great fun so far.”

The fourth and final round of the SP PNG Open tees off on Sunday morning at 9:10am at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club with the leaders hitting off at 11:00am.