Q School pressure is unlike any other.

The hopes of a prosperous season ahead rest on whether you can handle the heat over four rounds.

This is no ‘one and done’. What happens here shapes the opportunities that will be laid out for you for the next 12 months; it has the potential to be career-defining.

Three Australians and three Kiwis qualified for the Final Stage of Web.com Tour Q School at Whirlwind Golf Club in Arizona that guaranteed a card but not necessarily starts.

A top-10 finish would provide starts in each of the first 12 events of the 2019 season starting with The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic on January 13, a finish between 11-40 starts in the first eight events before being subject to the reshuffle.

Sitting 66th going into the final round, Wilkinson burst out of the blocks with a birdie at the first and after making par at the second made seven further birdies to make the turn at 8-under 28.

A ninth birdie at the par-4 10th hole put the magical mark of 59 well within reach but the left-hander with 186 career Web.com Tour starts cooled, making just one further birdie at the 17th to shoot 10-under 62 and end the week tied for 16th.

While Wilkinson made an impression on the leaderboard early in his round, Victorian Brett Coletta charged home late to make a similar leap.

Starting the final round in 74th position, Coletta birdied each of his opening three holes to generate momentum and then picked up four shots in the space of four holes – including an eagle at the par-5 15th – to shoot 63 and tied for 25th.

A 61 in the second round – which included 10 birdies and an eagle – was the backbone of Jamie Arnold’s week as he also finished in a tie for 25th with Kiwi Steven Alker shooting 65 in the fourth round to sneak into the cut-off of top 40 and ties.

New Zealand’s Nick Voke completed an extraordinary rookie season with four rounds in the 60s to be tied for 50th while Aussie amateur Min Woo Lee will have a decision to ponder after he ended the week tied for 67th and only limited status for 2019.

Five Australians were in action at the European Tour’s South African Open in Johannesburg but only one was able to qualify for the weekend, David Gleeson’s 65 in the second round the highlight as he finished tied for 65th.

Europe’s Staysure Tour concluded its season with the MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius where Peter Fowler completed his wonderful season with a tie for 17th.

In 18 events this year Fowler accumulated seven top-10 finishes and a win at the Willow Senior Golf Classic to finish seventh on the Order of Merit.

Queenslander Jake McLeod has broken through for his first professional victory, winning the 2018 AVJennings NSW Open.

Starting the day with a four shot lead, a nervous McLeod watched that disappear across the front-9 before an eagle on the par-5 11^th helped ensure the win.

Heading to the 18^th tee with a two shot lead, McLeod played it safe and recorded a two-putt par to win the title with rounds of 67, 68, 62 and 71 for a tournament total 20-under 268.

‘It was tough out there today. I started pretty average, but sort of hung in there on those par-5s on the front-9 and that eagle on the 11th hole was huge,” said McLeod.

“I had a perfect yardage for my 3-wood and hit a great shot to about 12 feet and holed the putt down the hill. I was pretty stoked, but I think the putt on 13 to save par was just as good.”

While the winning margin seemed comfortable in the end, McLeod did have to hold off Victorian Cameron John who made a charge for the title before recording back-to-back bogeys to finish in second place.

“I heard in the last couple of holes he (John) got it to 20-under and I got a bit nervous then. I thought he must have been playing really well because it wasn’t easy out there today,” added McLeod.

“I was definitely nervous, but a lot less than I thought I would be. That shot into the last was pretty scary over the water, but I got away with it.

“I was just happy to get it done in the end.”

Speechless after his round, McLeod walks away with the winner’s prize cheque of $72,000, Official World Golf Ranking points and full status on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2020 season.

But more importantly, McLeod now has the belief in his ability to close out tournaments after coming close in the past.

“I’m pretty stoked. I’ve got no words at the moment but it feels pretty good. Hopefully, I can win a few more,” added McLeod.

“I just think when I’m in contention more often I’ll be able to come back to this situation knowing I’ve done it before and will hopefully be able to do it again. Hopefully, that will be in an Aussie Open or PGA in the next few weeks.

“It is exhausting. I’m looking forward to the Aussie Open next week, then a week off before the PGA. I played pretty well at both last year and I’m looking to do the same thing.”

Victorian rookie professional Cameron John finished his tournament as the runner-up on 18-under the card after a valiant final round where he fired 5-under 67.

New South Welshman Blake Windred claimed low amateur honours after he finished tied third alongside Dylan Perry and Josh Younger on 15-under the card.

A shot further back in a tie for 6^th is David McKenzie (VIC), Jordan Mullaney (NSW), and Douglas Klein (QLD) who has played his way into the Emirates Australian Open.

Also earning a place in his national open thanks to finishing 9^th this week is Queenslander Blake Proverbs who rounds out the top-10 on 13-under the card alongside Dimi Papadatos (NSW) and Harrison Endycott (NSW).

Following his win today Jake McLeod has moved to fourth 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 moves to The Lakes Golf Club for the Emirates Australian Open.

Queenslander Jake McLeod was a man on fire at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club setting a new course record to hold a convincing lead at the AVJennings NSW Open.

Starting the day tied 5^th, McLeod stepped onto the first tee unusually calm and proceeded to reel off six birdies in seven holes.

“I was actually really calm today, usually I get very nervous on the first tee no matter what tournament it is or where I’m sitting. But I was really calm and I think that birdie on the first really got me going,” said McLeod.

“I was 6-under through seven so I knew I was going pretty low.”

On the back-9 he continued on with his birdie frenzy adding a further four consecutively to his scorecard from the 12^th to 15^th holes.

McLeod watched an 11^th birdie putt disappear into the hole on 17, before tensing up on the 18^th and finishing with a three-putt bogey to finish the day on 10-under 62, beating the previous record by a stroke.

“The first eight holes were pretty calm, but once we got to the turn it really started blowing.  I thought if I could hang on to what I was I would be pretty happy, but I think I had four in a row through the middle part of the back-9 there,” added McLeod, who is now 19-under the card after three rounds.

“It was pretty surreal. I think I just holed everything, I don’t know how it happened. Everything just seemed to want to go in.

While the media called for ‘59 watch’ at the 15^th hole, it was the furthest thing from the 24-year-old’s mind who is trying to secure his first victory on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“I never thought I would have 59,” added McLeod with his signature cheeky grin.

“I wanted to have 12 (under), which is why I rammed it up the last there. It’s pretty easy to forget about [that last hole] when you’ve made so many birdies out there.”

The nerves will be back for the final round, despite McLeod holding a four shot advantage overnight.

“I think I’m due, past due,” added McLeod who has recorded three top-10 finishes on Tour this season.

“Each tournament I seem to get a little bit better and better. And I’ve put myself in this situation a couple of times now, hopefully I can get it done and it will be a good learning curve.

“I’ll be pretty nervous out there, but I’m just going to stick to the same game plan that has been working all week. I’m just trying to get it in play really. If I rolled it like I did today I think there’s another low one out there.”

McLeod’s third round playing partner and fellow Queenslander Blake Proverbs also moved his way up the leaderboard today.

He fired 5-under 67 to be outright second and trailing McLeod by four shots. Proverbs entered the AVJennings NSW Open after recording a top-10 result at last week’s Isuzu Queensland Open and needs the same result to qualify for next week’s Emirates Australian Open.

Overnight leader Harrison Endycott had an adventurous day on course, making an eagle, five birdies, a bogey and two double bogeys to end the third round on 2-under 70, outright third on the leaderboard and five shots off the lead.

At 13-under the card after 54 holes is Cameron John while rounding out the top-5 on a shot further back are Jordan Mullaney and Blake Collyer who holds leading amateur honours.

The final round of the AVJennings NSW Open tees off at 6.45am with the final group of McLeod, Proverbs and Endycott on course at 11am.

New South Welshman Harrison Endycott has fired into the lead at AVJennings NSW Open after a perfect round of golf.

Reeling off eight birdies for the day, Endycott shot 8-under 64 and is bogey-free for his first 36 holes at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club.

At 12-under the card after two rounds, Endycott holds a one-shot lead heading into the weekend.

“It was definitely nice this morning with great scoring conditions. My game has been slowly getting better over the last six months. I really did feel like a low round wasn’t far away,” said Endycott.

“I think playing yesterday afternoon in those tricky conditions definitely helped build my confidence going into the second round this morning.”

With his state open marking 12 months since he joined the professional ranks, Endycott tees it up this week a more experienced player.

The 22-year-old has spent 2018 competing on the PGA TOUR – Latinoamerica with solid results. In 11 starts he has made 10 cuts and recorded four top-10 finishes including a runner-up result in September.

“I had a full season over there. It’s definitely an interesting Tour, its challenging off the golf course and it definitely toughens you up as a player,” added Endycott.

“I learned how to manage myself away from the golf course in preparation. Learning how to get away from the money, this time last year I was always looking at how much I could make whereas the Latin Tour taught me how to get into contention more. I think that has been a huge boost for me and coming into this week it felt a lot easier.

“There were a lot of positives to draw from this year. I ran second once and I had three top-5’s. I am just trying to build my confidence and build some momentum for the summer here.”

Returning home was bittersweet for Endycott who missed out on progressing to the final stage of Web.com Tour School but will instead play in the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour co-sanctioned Australian PGA Championship at the end of the month.

“I was very close to getting through second stage of the Web.com Tour to the final stage; that was a little heartbreaking on the flight home for the Aussie summer.

“When one door closes another one opens. I really had to analyse all my positives; I get an extra event, I get to play for something maybe in Europe.

“You just never know in this game how quickly things can change. There are a bunch of players who have proven that.”

Overnight co-leader Cameron John also took advantage of the scoring conditions this morning, backing up his first round performance with a 5-under 67.

Now one shot off the lead at 11-under the card, John hopes to continue scoring birdies on the weekend as he chases his first pro win.

“It was a little bit easier today, there was no wind for the first seven or eight holes but I felt like I got off to a slow start, I just didn’t make any putts. I knew there are enough opportunities out there and if you stay patient some will go in,” said John.

“It’s fun making birdies, it doesn’t always happen, you can’t always be the guy making birdies, but it’s definitely one of my favourite styles of golf.

“I think anywhere around 22-under will get the job done this week. So I will aim for 28 or 30 and hopefully win by a few,” he said with a laugh.

Playing in his rookie season, John is fast learning what it takes to be in contention on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and has looked to one of the Tour’s most experienced players as a role model.

“What I have learnt most; it doesn’t matter how you go about it, so long as you have a game plan,” added John.

“I have played a couple of times with Matt Millar now and that guy is really impressive. It was great playing with him in WA because it helps to show that if you plot your way around and hit your spots, you can tear up a golf course pretty easy.

“I used to get really caught up in what score I was, but now I think about the actual target and the shot I have to hit and think less about what score I need to make.”

Sitting one shot further back on 10-under the card is South Australian Brad Moules who fired 6-under 66 today and Queenslander Blake Proverbs who had a second round of 67.

Rounding out the top-5 on the leaderboard are; Jake McLeod, Matt Millar and Ashley Hall who all fired 68 in the second round to be 9-under the card.

The second round cut was made at 1-under the card with 61 professionals and 12 amateurs making the weekend rounds.

The third round of the AVJennings NSW Open will tee off at 6.45am with the final group of Endycott, John and Moules on course at 11am

Jarryd Felton and Cameron John have set the early pace at the AVJennings NSW Open but hold just a one shot lead over nine players.

Playing in the morning field, Felton fired 6-under 66 to continue a strong showing for the West Australian at the Twins Creek Golf and Country Club after he finished tied 6^th at the tournament last year.

“I don’t normally make that many birdies, but I made them today so hopefully I can keep it going over the next three days,” said Felton.

“I had four birdies in a row. I birdied probably one of the hardest holes today, the par-3 14^th and then got on a bit of a run.

“I was feeling really confident through that stretch and then lipped out on the last so it could have been even better but I am very happy with 6-under.”

Today’s performance also signals a turnaround in form with the flat stick for Felton, just in time for the last three events of the year on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“I only missed one green today so I gave myself a lot of chances. They paid off at the end of the day, I made some nice putts. My putting has been horrific lately so it’s nice to see it turn around,” added Felton, who rolled in a 40 foot birdie putt on the par-5 15^th.

“The greens are rolling so good that you feel like you should be holing 30 footers but they are soft as well so you can go at the flags.

“The course is softer this year so you’re having a lot longer shots in but I don’t think that makes much of a difference.

“I like this layout, its open off the tee but you still need to take the right lines.”

Playing in the afternoon field, rookie Pro Cameron John rolled in a birdie putt on the 18^th to tie Felton at the top of the leaderboard.

It’s a solid feat for the 19 year old who is currently playing injured while trying to shore up his place inside the top-50 on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

“The putter was pretty much on fire today. I have been feeling good about my game but I was struggling on Monday, I wasn’t sure if I was going to play,” said John.

“I have a bulging disc in my back, so I have been struggling with that. I wouldn’t have been able to play without the help of Matt Green, the Tour physio.

“Given my spot on the Order of Merit, I need to play everything, so I have played my 5^th week in a row while injured.

“I want to go to Asian Tour School at the end of the year so it is a big advantage to be top-50, I am currently 42^nd, so it’s important to play well. The higher I finish on the Order of Merit the more opportunities I get, the Aussie Tour is great for that.”

Victorian PGA Champion Aaron Pike, who arrived at the course just 10 minutes before his 7.15am tee time due to a mix up with his alarm, fired 5-under the card to be one of 10 players tied second.

“I had a bit of a rough start today. Jack Munro who I am staying with slept through his alarm and my phone software updated overnight and my alarm turned itself off. So I only got here with 10 minutes to spare, it wasn’t the greatest preparation, it wasn’t a good look,” said Pike.

“But we got here in time, I am not sure how Jack went, but I was feeling good and playing nice. I got to hit a few balls to warm up. I am going to buy an alarm tonight!”

Joining the log jam at 5-under the card was Matt Millar who has earned the nick name of Mr Consistent on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“I have a good understanding of my game and I don’t try to play outside it. There are holes where it is tempting, and maybe a few years back, I would have tried to have a crack, but now I take the safer option and make a birdie with less risk,” said Millar who has recorded seven top-10 results including a win from 10 starts this season.

“There are guys that hit it 50 and 70 metres past me, Luke Brown who I played with today, he was hitting an iron past my driver. It’s a bit demoralising from that sense but if I am hitting it straight, you can still score on most golf courses by doing the percentage things right.”

Joining Pike and Millar in a tie for third are Jake Higginbottom, Ashley Hall, Jordan Mullaney, Neven Basic, Jake McLeod, Scott Arnold and Blake Proverbs.

The second round of the AVJennings NSW Open tees off at 6.45am with Cameron John on course at 8.05am and Jarryd Felton out at 12.25am.

Jarryd Felton has set the early pace at the AVJennings NSW Open shooting 6-under 66 this morning.

It continues a strong showing for the West Australian at the Twins Creek Golf and Country Club after he finished tied 6^th at the tournament last year.

“I don’t normally make that many birdies, but I made them today so hopefully I can keep it going over the next three days,” said Felton.

“I had four birdies in a row. I birdied probably one of the hardest holes today, the par-3 14^th and then got on a bit of a run.

“I was feeling really confident through that stretch and then lipped out on the last so it could have been even better but I am very happy with 6-under.”

Today’s performance also signals a turnaround in form with the flat stick for Felton, just in time for the last three events of the year on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“I only missed one green today so I gave myself a lot of chances. They paid off at the end of the day, I made some nice putts. My putting has been horrific lately so it’s nice to see it turn around,” added Felton, who rolled in a 40 foot birdie putt on the par-5 15^th.

“The greens are rolling so good that you feel like you should be holing 30 footers but they are soft as well so you can go at the flags.

“The course is softer this year so you’re having a lot longer shots in but I don’t think that makes much of a difference.

“I like this layout, its open off the tee but you still need to take the right lines.”

Sitting just one shot further back on 5-under the card is recent Victorian PGA Champion Aaron Pike who arrived at the course just 10 minutes before his 7.15am tee time after a mix up with his alarm.

“I had a bit of a rough start today. Jack Munro who I am staying with slept through his alarm and my phone software updated overnight and my alarm turned itself off. So I only got here with 10 minutes to spare, it wasn’t the greatest preparation, it wasn’t a good look,” said Pike.

“But we got here in time, I am not sure how Jack went, but I was feeling good and playing nice. I got to hit a few balls to warm up. I am going to buy an alarm tonight!”

Also shooting 5-under 67 in the opening round was Jake Higginbottom, Ashley Hall, Jordan Mullaney and Blake Proverbs.

The afternoon field is now on course.

Queensland based Anthony Quayle returns to the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia this week after securing playing rights on the difficult Japan Golf Tour in just his first season overseas.

In only his second year as a professional, 24-year-old Quayle was able to secure his playing rights in Japan earlier this year and now heads back Down Under to play in the summer of golf in Australia beginning at the AVJennings NSW Open 8-11 November at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club.

“It was a lot of fun and a massive learning curve; it was pretty cool to get up there and play some quality fields in some pretty big events,” said Quayle whose best result in Japan was a tie for second place at The Crowns.

“It was cool to play with a lot of the Aussie guys that I’ve looked up to from my junior days, having dinner with them and watching them play and then competing with them has been great.”

While playing on one of the world’s richest professional tours may be daunting, life outside the ropes is just as tough. When you don’t speak the language the simplest of tasks become just that extra bit difficult.

“In some ways that’s probably the toughest part of a rookie year up there, just trying to adapt to how their culture works and how they go about different things.

“Everything’s obviously in a different language and they’re trying more and more to cater for English speaking players but compared to what I’m used to it’s really tough.

“All the guys up there really helped me out Brendan Jones, Matt Griffin, Michael Hendry, all of those guys have been great.

“I just tried to listen to them and back myself that my good stuff would allow me to compete there and it worked out this year.”

Now with the best part of a full season in Japan under his belt, Quayle will return to his home tour armed with the experience and knowledge to focus purely on golf and capturing his first professional title.

“I feel that going up there next year now knowing how the tour works and knowing the courses, they’re very unique courses, it’s going to be a massive advantage on my rookie year,” added Quayle.

“I think all in all it’s been a pretty successful year and I’m looking to try and cap off a good year and make it a great year in these next few weeks.”

What would make his second season as a professional great would be capturing the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title.

Following a tied third result at the Vic Open and runner-up finish at the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways, Quayle sits second in the money race, some $28,000 behind leader Daniel Nisbet.

It’s what has brought Quayle back home to Australia for the summer, that and the comforts of home as well as the chance to play in front of friends and family.

It means he’ll miss out on competing in a run of tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour totaling well over AU $10,000,000. But the chance to play his home Open again and chase the Order of Merit title was too great.

“There’s obviously a chance to play for a bit of money up there at the moment then also try and further my status for next year. I had a couple of options, I could come back home and try to win the Order of Merit and like I said, turn a good year into a great year so I ended up going down that route,” added Quayle.

“Last year I played the Australian Open and was contending for most of the week. It was a really cool experience playing in your national Open with all the fans and how welcomed I was by everybody so it was something I didn’t want to miss this year, I wanted to be back and supporting Australian golf.

“I’m definitely looking to try and play well these next few weeks and see if I can win that Order of Merit.”

Of course, should Quayle be successful in winning the Order of Merit he’ll receive full status on the European Tour, an invite to The Open as well as invites into World Golf Championship events.

“It’s a good problem to have, picking between full status on the Japan Tour or a full season on the European Tour but I think I would probably lean more towards Europe and throw myself into the deep end again to learn pretty quickly.

“Eventually that’s where I want to be in Europe and the U.S. playing Majors and WGC’s and winning the Order of Merit is a pretty straightforward way to start doing those things, but it’s certainly tough to win.”

Anthony Quayle tees off for round one at 12.15pm tomorrow with Jake McLeod and New Zealand amateur Daniel Hillier.

The AVJennings NSW Open will be played at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club from 8 – 11 November.

In addition to the winner’s share of the $400,000 prize purse, the champion will receive Official World Golf Ranking Points and be fully exempt onto the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2020 season.

New Zealand’s Nick Voke began his professional career at World Number 1,932, he’ll play the AVJennings NSW Open at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club this week ranked World Number 257.

New Zealand’s Nick Voke began his professional career at World Number 1,932,he’ll play the AVJennings NSW Open at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club this week ranked World Number 257.

It’s another example of a meteoritic rise of a young professional beginning on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia in 2018 and lighting up the international scene to secure a card on a Tour around the world.

Dimi Papadatos was a winner on the Challenge Tour, Anthony Quayle has secured status on the Japan Golf Tour and of course Lucas Herbert has been banging on the door of a European Tour title while Cameron Davis and Curtis Luck are now officially PGA TOUR professionals for the 2018/2019 season.

Iowa based Voke set his sights on climbing into the World’s top-500 ranked golfers and securing any kind of status on the Web.com Tour, he has smashed both goals climbing over 1,600 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking and wrapping up a Web.com card through a spectacular few weeks on the PGA TOUR Series – China.

“It’s not a bad start,” a humble Voke said at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club today.

“We set out at the start of the year to be top-500 in the world and have some sort of Web.com status so we can safely tick off those two and there are a couple more events here in Australia so we’ll try to climb even further.”

Four years in the Iowa State University collegiate golf program showed enough positive signs in both Voke’s game and personal development to set the lofty goals and with a healthy support team behind him, Voke makes a point of using ‘we’ and ‘us’ when speaking on his career, he’s looking forward to the next stage of his burgeoning professional life.

“My last four years at Iowa State I was trending nicely and we knew if we kept doing the right things and my support team is in place, my processes are there so everything’s in place for us to keep learning and developing.

“I turned pro ranked in the 1900’s now I’m at 260 odd so it’s heading in the right direction and I’m excited to see where it continues.”

A quick look at Voke’s professional results to date in 2018 read incredibly well for a first year professional, missing only one cut in 15 events, what that doesn’t show  are the hard yards of driving across the country attempting to pre-qualify into Web.com Tour events.

“It was a big grind, golf’s a funny game, you can go through phases where results and things aren’t going your way but you’re putting in a lot of work, it’s almost like you’re at a bus stop waiting for a bus,” added Voke.

“You can be doing all the right things and get into the right position and be in the right place but the buses just don’t come.

“Then all of a sudden two or three come at once, it’s a real funny game like that and I’ve definitely had that experience this year.”

Voke’s bus well and truly arrived after he received an invitation to play in the Suzhou Championship on the PGA TOUR Series – China, he finished fourth that week before going on to win three times and finish second on the tour’s Order of Merit. All of which ]secured his Web.com Tour card.

“I think that was a combination of being ready to go at the right time and being given the opportunity as well.  I’m just a product of my support team and we’re just very fortunate and blessed we got given that opportunity and we took full advantage.”

Now back in Australia for this week’s AVJennings NSW Open and Emirates Australian Open, Voke said he’s well prepared after his whirlwind few weeks through Asia before it’s back to the States for the final stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School to improve his status.

“We’re not certain what starts we’ll get on the Web.com Tour so I’m heading over to final stage qualifying school just to put myself in the best position I can,” added Voke.

“I’m ready to go, I’ve had a nice couple of weeks off back in my base in Iowa and I’m feeling fresh.

“It was a long seven weeks in Asia and it can beat you up a bit. I’m probably a little on the rusty side but I’m excited to get out there and see what I can do. The course this week looks awesome, I’m excited to get out there and hit some golf shots.”

The AVJennings NSW Open will be played at Twin Creeks Golf and Country Club from 8 – 11 November.

In addition to the winner’s share of the $400,000 prize purse, the champion will receive Official World Golf Ranking Points and be fully exempt onto the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2020 season.