Queenslander Daniel Nisbet has won the 2018 Northern Territory PGA Championship.

With rounds of 64, 69, 69, 63 for a tournament total 19-under the card, Nisbet earned his victory.

This becomes Nisbet’s second win on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia in 2019 after he also won the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open.

He has extended his lead on the Order of Merit by almost $28,000 from Anthony Quayle.

More to come.

Hot scoring was the order of the day at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship as Jack Wilson and Damien Jordan fired into the lead.

Shooting 7-under 64 on Saturday, Wilson was inspired by the sage wisdom of his now infamous caddy, Rizz, and heads into the final round on 14-under the card.

“I set myself the goal of shooting 6-under each day on the weekend, I thought it might be enough, so to shoot 7-under today was really good,” said Wilson.

“I have been on the phone to Rizz a couple of times and ‘unreal brother’ has been the theme. He is just calming which is what he is there for.

“But he is learning about golf, his message yesterday was ‘good work on capitalising on the par-5’s maybe you should work on the par-4’s now.’ So the backhanded compliments are what he does best,” added Wilson who played the par-4’s in 4-under and the par-5’s in 3-under today.

With a big end to the year coming up, Wilson, who won the 2013 WA PGA Championship as a PGA Trainee, is looking for his second career win to lock up his ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia card before turning his attention to the Asian Tour.

“I really started to find a groove around that back-9 today, hopefully, it can roll on,” added Wilson.

“I have been putting in a bit of work, we have a big summer coming up and I need to finish well in Asia, so to get some form and get that confidence boost would be a big help.”

Playing in the group behind Wilson, Jordan fired 6-under 65 to ensure his place in the lead heading into the final round.

“Once again the putter was good to me today, I was holing putts at the right time and so I am happy to be up there with Jack (Wilson),” said Jordan.

“I was 4-under through the turn and made a soft bogey on 12. But I knew there were some good holes coming up to get it back and I managed to make some good putts.”

Jordan is also chasing his second ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia victory after he won the 2017 Victorian PGA Championship.

“I have been here before and managed to get the win. Every day is different but I definitely have some confidence from that win,” added Jordan.

“I just need to play within myself. I know what I can and can’t do so I need to play to my strengths and just worry about myself. I can’t control what Jack (Wilson) is doing.”

Sitting two shots off the lead, Cameron John (VIC) and Campbell Rawson (NZL) each fired 6-under 65 in the third round.

A shot further back on 11-under the card and rounding out the top-5 are Queenslanders Maverick Antcliff and Daniel Nisbet.

A dominant display of golf has seen Daniel Nisbet win the 2018 MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship at Palmerston Golf Course.

Starting the day three shots off the lead, Nisbet knew he needed a low round to win his second title on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia in 2018.

Firing 8-under 63 was enough to hand the Queenslander a two-shot win with a tournament total 19-under 265.

“I am pretty excited, it has been a long few days out in this heat, so its relief, exhaustion, excitement,” said Nisbet who claimed a share of the lead after the 10^th hole today.

“I got off to a good start today like I have all week, but the back-9 really helped me today. I hit a couple close in there and holed some putts which were the difference from the last few days.”

“I heard a few whispers about the scores so I knew what was happening throughout the day. I knew that I needed to keep playing well because if I didn’t go low someone else would.”

Having won the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open in March and earning full status on the Asian Tour, Nisbet travelled to the Top End looking to secure his lead on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

He currently holds an almost AU$28,000 margin over Anthony Quayle with the pair eyeing the opportunities on offer from an Order of Merit victory.

“This definitely helps the Order of Merit. In my situation I need to get as much money up as I can to prevent being run down at the end of the year,” added Nisbet.

“Hopefully this gives me a good boost and I have a solid finish to the year so I can get some more international tour starts at the end of the year.”

The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit offers the winner a Major Championship start at The Open, the leading two players invites into the World Golf Championship – HSBC Champions and World Golf Championship – Mexico Championship and the leading top-10 players a start in the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

In addition to a number of exemptions into international qualifying schools for the top-ranked players, the highest finisher on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, not already exempt onto the European Tour, will receive a full card for the 2019 season.

“I think this is the best the Tour has ever been for the young guys coming out. If we get to the top of the money list we can go to Web.com and European Tour Qualifying School, earn starts in the Dunhill Links, World Golf Championship tournaments and The Open,” added Nisbet.

“There are just so many opportunities for the guys that finish at the top of the money list and that’s why I definitely want to win it.”

Finishing two shots behind the champion were 2018 Papua New Guinea Open champion Daniel Gale who fired 7-under 64 today and 2017 Victorian PGA champion Damien Jordan who fired 3-under 68 to finish with a tournament total 17-under 267.

New Zealander Mark Brown finished outright fourth on 15-under the card while Adam Burdett and Maverick Antcliff rounded out the top-5 finishing on 14-under the card.

The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia will next be in action at RACV Cape Schanck for the Victorian PGA Championship from 11-14 October.

Steady golf has seen Victorian Adam Burdett take the lead at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship.

Teeing off the 1^st hole, in the morning field, Burdett got his day off to a good start opening with a birdie.

Finishing with a further two birdies, Burdett fired 4-under 67 and is the current clubhouse leader on 9-under the card.

“It has been a good couple of days; I have kept the ball in play and made some putts,” said Burdett.

“It was pretty solid and my short game was good today. I missed a few greens in just bad spots but was able to get it up and down.

“I was holing putts so that is the main thing.”

We caught up with Adam Burdett following his second round 65 at the #NTPGA pic.twitter.com/Q4wXW30fKT

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) August 17, 2018

Sitting a shot further back is Jake Higginbottom who enjoyed a good day on the greens.

“I feel like I have putted really well the last couple of days. The course is in great condition, so hopefully, I can keep holing a few,” said Higginbottom, whose round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 13^th.

“I hit a nice drive down 13 and then hit a 9 iron to about eight feet and made eagle from there so that got my round going. Then I played solid the rest of the day.”

Higginbottom shares second place on the leaderboard with Victorian Deyen Lawson who fired 6-under 65 in the second round.

Lawson will be one to watch over the weekend after he finished runner-up to Travis Smyth at the Palmerston Golf Course last year.

Overnight leader Daniel Nisbet teed off in the second round with the aim to chase down Burdett’s lead and reclaim pole position.

He and the rest of the afternoon field are now on course.

Queenslander Daniel Nisbet will retain a share of the lead, alongside Victorian Adam Burdett, heading into the weekend at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship.

Playing in the morning field Adam Burdett played steady golf to set the round two lead at 9-under the card.

Teeing off the 1^st hole, Burdett got his day off to a good start opening with a birdie and adding another to his card at the 9^th to recover from a bogey on the par-3 7^th.

On the back-9, Burdett birdied the par-5 13^th and added two more birdies to his card on the closing two holes.

“It has been a good couple of days; I have kept the ball in play and made some putts,” said Burdett, who recorded a 4-under 67 today.

“It was pretty solid and my short game was good today. I missed a few greens in bad spots but was able to get it up and down.

“I was holing putts so that is the main thing.”

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, a cold putter saw Nisbet leave birdies out on the course but his 2-under 69 was still enough for him to catch Burdett.

“It could have been anything today. I hit a couple tight in there and just didn’t nail the putts,” said Nisbet, who is contemplating a switch in flat sticks.

“I always travel with a second putter, whether I use it or not, it just gets my mind of a bad putting day.

“It takes my mind off the current putter and I will actually probably play with the same one tomorrow. But it’s nice to roll a few with a different putter to recalibrate how I am going about it.”

Sitting a shot further back on 8-under the card is Jake Higginbottom who enjoyed a good day on the greens.

“I feel like I have putted really well the last couple of days. The course is in great condition, so hopefully, I can keep holing a few,” said Higginbottom, whose round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 13^th.

“I hit a nice drive down 13 and then hit a 9 iron to about eight feet and made eagle from there so that got my round going. Then I played solid the rest of the day.”

Higginbottom shares third place on the leaderboard with Victorian Deyen Lawson who fired 6-under 65 in the second round.

Lawson will be one to watch over the weekend after he finished runner-up to Travis Smyth at the Palmerston Golf Course last year.

Also in a tie for third are Queenslanders Kade McBride and Damien Jordan who had second rounds of 69 and 68 respectively.

At 7-under the card after two days at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship is Jack Wilson (VIC) and Tim Stewart (NSW).

Rounding out the top-10 on 6-under the card is Ben Clementson (NSW), Maverick Antcliff (QLD), Michael Sim (WA), Campbell Rawson (NZL), Chris Wood (QLD), Cameron John (VIC) and Alex Edge (NSW).

The second round cut was made at even par with 50 professionals and one amateur making the weekend rounds.

New Zealand Open Champion Daniel Nisbet lit up the Palmerston Golf Course as he fired into the early lead at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship.

Teeing off the 10^th hole in the morning field; Nisbet cruised around the back-9 in 2-under the card.

But it was his second nine, the front-9, where he really caught fire. Recording four consecutive birdies the Queenslander was 6-under before adding a final birdie to his card at the 9^th hole to sign for an opening round of 7-under 64.

“I was a bit aggressive out there and it paid off. I was hitting my driver really well so I am happy,” said Nisbet, who was bogey-free.

Today’s performance came as somewhat of a surprise for Nisbet who has missed the cut in this tournament the past two years.

“I was saying in the lead up that I have never played that well here and I have missed the cut. So it was nice to get the monkey off my back and shoot a low one. Hopefully, I can do it another three times,” added Nisbet.

“Looking back at the New Zealand Open, I hadn’t had the best results there before the win either so I think coming in with lower expectations, taking it as it comes and not putting too much pressure on myself is paying dividends.”

Playing in the afternoon field, 23-year-old Kade McBride pushed through heat exhaustion to shoot 6-under 65.

“I think the Darwin heat is getting to me, I hit a wall on the back-9 but I got some good advice to take hydralyte and that got me going again,” said McBride.

“I am happy with how I handled the back-9, it got pretty tough out there but I managed to salvage it pretty well and came home with a good score.”

South Australian Peter Cooke, who fired 5-under 66, had to forgo a practice round when his golf clubs didn’t arrive until the eve of the tournament.

“My clubs didn’t arrive on my flight Tuesday night but luckily they arrived last night. I didn’t get to do any practice so I was lucky that I managed to pull something out this morning,” said Cooke.

“I had done a lot of work before the tournament and have been playing nicely so I didn’t really have a reason to worry too much.”

Joining Cooke, tied third on the leaderboard, is Damien Jordan who enjoyed a good day with the flat stick.

“That’s the best start that I have had for a while so I am hoping to keep this putter hot,” said Jordan.

“I sunk a lot of good putts out there, a couple that I wasn’t expecting, so I just need to keep that momentum going.”

Jordan, who served two tours of Iraq with the Australian Army, was quick to thank the 25 American Marines who are volunteering at the tournament this week whilst deployed in Darwin for Exercise Pitch Black, an international air force exercise held in the Top End every two years.

“It was cool to see a few of the Marines around the course. I spent a bit of time with them in Iraq, they are good lads,” added Jordan.

“It’s great that they and all the volunteers are able to come and help with the tournament, so thanks to everyone involved.”

Also opening with 5-under the card were Michael Sim (WA), Adam Burdett (VIC), Brad Moules (SA) and Campbell Rawson (NZ).

Defending champion Travis Smyth had an interesting day on course, finding just three fairways the rookie pro managed to shoot 4-under 67 which featured a lone bogey.

“I wanted to get off to a good start like last year and I think 4-under has met that expectation,” said Smyth.

“I wasn’t that far off but I only hit three fairways. The trees really overhang on this course so I was playing a lot of punch, low fade and low draw shots.

“I was very happy with how I scrambled because it could have been a lot of bogeys out here but I only made one.”

Joining Smyth on 4-under the card and rounding out the top-10 are Tim Stewart (NSW), Jack Wilson (VIC), Maverick Antcliff (QLD), Jake Higginbottom (NSW), Braden Becker (WA) and Scott Arnold (NSW).

Aaron Pike may just be the proudest man to hit the Palmerston Golf Course tomorrow when he tees it up at the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship.

Playing the golf course he grew up on, his family home is literally on the 11th hole, Pike’s connection to the tournament has gone a step further in 2018 with his family business, MMC, coming on as the naming rights partner.

“It’s always great to be back playing where I first started,” said Pike.

“But I didn’t know what to expect. I knew the family was getting involved with the business but getting here it’s real. There are signs everywhere; the family business name is all over the place.

“I am very proud; the family have always been big supporters of the golf club, so to have the biggest event at the club sponsored by us is even more amazing.

“Every event that I go into, I want to do well but especially with the family being involved this week I want to put in a good performance.”

Now in its third year on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Pike explains the year-round impact the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship has had on the local community.

“I don’t think the players realise the effect these tournaments have on the community. You don’t understand that until you are part of the community,” he added.

“People here don’t stop talking about it all year, they talk about a guy hitting a shot 12 months ago or how they walked around and watched Deyen Lawson, Daniel Fox these sorts of guys.

“Then to see them playing in the New Zealand Open or the Fiji International, people here get nostalgic and hold these guys close to their hearts.”

Being played for $150,000 the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship also attracts Official World Golf Ranking Points.

“This isn’t probably going to be the biggest event our players compete in this year but for our club this is the biggest event of the year,” added Pike.

“To have the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia at a little place called Palmerston, just outside of Darwin, it is a great justice to the government and the people involved at the club.”

When the tournament tees off at 7.30am on Thursday morning it will be on a course that just five months ago was ravaged by Cyclone Marcus, the worst storm experienced by the region since Cyclone Tracey in 1974.

“The course lost between 500 and 600 trees, in my opinion some of those trees needed to go and it’s a blessing. But to lose that many, that quick, is always going to be a hindrance,” added Pike.

“So to clean-up and recover from that and still get the greens and fairways as good as they are, for the course to be this green, it is awesome.

“For the most part, I have nothing but praise. The new greenkeeper here, Scott Trembath, has got it looking as good as I have seen it for a very long time.”

Having battled a hip and back injury for the past 12 months, Pike is happy to be back playing in the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship after being sidelined for the 2017 staging.

“The first year the tournament was on, I was really struggling with my body and I played it but I wasn’t ready,” added Pike.

“Last year I didn’t even have the chance to play, I caddied for Michael Sim but with the family being involved this year there was no way I wasn’t going to play.

“I wouldn’t say I am at 100 per cent, but I would say I am a hell of a lot better than what I was the last couple of times I have been here.

“I haven’t set any goals but it’s hard to come back to the golf course that you grew up playing and not expect good things. But I have to keep that in check.”

Pike will tee off in the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship at 12.35pm tomorrow playing alongside Victorians Adam Burdett and Rory Bourke.

The MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship will be played at Palmerston Golf Course from 16-19 August 2018.

In addition to the winner’s share of the $150,000 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 2019 season.

Twelve months ago Travis Smyth underwent a four-day transformation.

Entering the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship at Palmerston Golf Course in Darwin’s eastern suburbs last September, Smyth was a highly-regarded amateur who had already made his presence felt in professional tournaments.

He left the NT not with the winner’s cheque for $22,500 but something infinitely more valuable; belief.

A wire-to-wire, six-shot victory propelled Smyth into the professional ranks riding a wave of momentum.

The year since has been one of discovery, both as a player and a person.

In his first three tournaments as a full member of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, Smyth accumulated close to $50,000 and carried that form into Asian Tour Qualifying where he finished tied for third to earn his card.

In his first full year as a professional Smyth has played tournaments in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Fiji and says the experience of playing professional events as an amateur instilled a sense of confidence that has served him well.

“I did feel a lot more comfortable and I’d felt good playing as an amateur even before that victory,” Smyth said of his 2017 Territory triumph.

“I was very fortunate to get a whole bunch of starts as an amateur because guys who turn pro with no professional starts are probably going to feel a bit lost out there because it is so new to them.”

An opening round of 63 set up a tie for 11th at the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open in March before he embarked on life on tour, missing the cut in a Web.com Tour event and in his first five starts in Asia.

It was a steep learning curve but one the 23-year-old seems to have come out of with top-20 results at both the Royal Cup and Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways in his two most recent starts.

“I missed something like six cuts in a row which I’ve never done in my life so I feel like it’s taught me a lot,” said Smyth, who began his golf journey on the New South Wales South Coast before joining St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney.

“It does feel a little bit different going out onto the Asian Tour because the players on average are a little bit better and it still feels like I need to perform and find my feet a bit more on that tour.

“So far I’ve been to at least 10 countries this year and every single course is different with different greens and different speeds so just getting accustomed to being able to adapt straight away because you don’t really have much time to prepare.

“That’s been the hardest part so far.

“It makes me feel a lot better when I do play well because I’ve felt the lows so badly, in my eyes anyway.

“I don’t take anything for granted anymore. I work my butt off and just keep playing well.”

Smyth’s title defence of the MMC Northern Territory PGA Championship headlines a star-studded field that also boasts New Zealand Open champion Daniel Nisbet, Victorian Open champion Simon Hawkes, former PGA Tour players Michael Sim and James Nitties and 2018 tournament winners Daniel Fox (Qld PGA), Michael Long (WA PGA) and Daniel Gale (PNG Open).