Over 100 players, caddies and spectators converged on the Wimmera town of Horsham for the unique Horsham Telstra Shop Western Open.

This is the first pro-am of its kind bringing together the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series with Golf Victoria’s Ivo Whitton and Susie Tolhurst state amateur series with a spot in the 2019 Vic Open available to the winning professional not otherwise exempt into the field.

Simon Hawkes held a 1-shot overnight lead from amateur Adam Tsiami and Queensland’s Chris Wood and was able to hang on to win the pro-am by the narrow margin over Peter Wilson and Tsiami in a thrilling final round

Tsiami took the early initiative and was 4-under for the day 9-under for the pro-am through the turn with a 1-shot lead over Peter Wilson with Hawkes at 6-under, 3 shots behind.

Wilson made solid par’s on the 7^th and 8^th but his drive on the short par-4 9^th finished pin high right of the green. He needed to make an up and down birdie in front of the large crowd to take the lead and get one hand on the winner’s invite into the 2019 Vic Open.

His delicate chip rolled out 7-feet past the hole and the return putt burned the edge of the cup and had to settle for a tap-in par and held the clubhouse lead at 8-under the card.

Tsiami later joined Wilson in the clubhouse at 8-under before Hawkes stepped up, nailing his birdie putt on the last and taking out the win.

“I managed to get a good score in the first round and just managed to sort of sneak one in in the last,” said Hawkes.

“Adam and I were both sitting at eight-under par and it was an exciting finish.

“This is my first time here and it’s been phenomenal, country Victorian golf courses are great; the greens are good. There were opportunities at the start of the week for people to go out and have some good scores.”

As 2018 Vic Open champion, Hawkes is already exempt into the 2019 European Tour event meaning the exemption on offer is handed back to the tournament.

Horsham Golf Club Manager and PGA Professional Paul Riley said the club was delighted to host some of the elite golfers in the country in the small town.

“We had elite golfers come and play in Horsham. It’s been really cool seeing these guys here, we probably had about 100 people around the green on Saturday,” said Riley.

“We had the reigning Victorian Open champion Simon Hawkes, we had Ashley Hall, who lost in a playoff in the Emirates Australian Open against Jordan Spieth, it’s just awesome.

“A lot of people have been saying how good it is and I think they are quietly surprised, they are telling us the greens are incredible and we aren’t even in our growing season. The course is going to get even better in the next few months.”

Professionals and amateurs combine for the Horsham Telstra Store Western Open title this weekend in a first of its kind event.

This event signals the return of Professional golf to the Horsham Golf Club which lost its clubhouse and almost all of the trees on course during the 2008 Black Saturday fires, the layout is regarded as one of the best regional courses in Australia.

It’s just not the title on the line this weekend either; courtesy of Golf Victoria should the winner be a Professional not already exempt, they will gain a sponsor’s invite into the 2019 Vic Open, now a co-sanctioned European Tour event on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“Simon Brookhouse and David Greenhill at Golf Victoria have been right behind this new concept from the start.  We simply don’t have an opportunity like this in any other event on the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series,” said Heath McLeod, Tournament Coordinator for the PGA of Australia.

In another first for the Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series, the PGA of Australia will combine with Golf Victoria’s amateur series, the Ivo Whitton and Susie Tolhurst, with all players competing for the Horsham Telstra Store Western Open title.

“This will give the state’s leading amateurs some real tournament experience.  They will play in exactly the same event and see their name on the leaderboard on the PGA of Australia website and App,” added McLeod.

Round two will be a seeded draw with the champion crowned at approximately 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon.

Over 100 players, caddies and spectators will converge on Horsham for the three-day event.  Friday will see leading Professionals hosting a free junior and beginner clinic at the club from 10.30am before joining local corporate partners for an afternoon teams event.

The tournament proper begins early on Saturday morning and with a quality field that features 2018 Vic Open champion Simon Hawkes, 2018 Coca-Cola QLD PGA champion Daniel Fox, 2016 Victorian PGA champion Ashley Hall and leading amateurs Kieran Vogels and Lukas Michel.

Former AFL footballer Jason Akermanis will also compete in the event as he prepares himself for a shot at the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Q-School presented by Cobra Puma this December in a bid to go from life as a retired footballer to professional golfer.