Redland Bay Trainee Professional Gavin Fairfax has defeated Hills Trainee Dean Jamieson to claim the 2018 Pampling Plate at Caboolture Golf Club.

With the top two seeds from Monday’s qualifying battling it out today for one of the most prestigious trophies played on the Queensland PGA Trainee calendar, Fairfax made his intentions clear from the get-go with three birdies on his opening three holes.

Fairfax made the turn in the morning 18 holes leading 3 up and although Jamieson did his best to claw his way back throughout the morning round, a couple of late errors had Fairfax with a 5 up lead heading into the final 18 holes.

Jamieson knew he was going to have to make his move early if he was to put a dent into Fairfax’s lead, and by the time they made the 9^th hole, Fairfax’s lead was back to three.

The pair traded blows early on the back nine, and as they stood on the 16^th tee, Fairfax held a two-hole margin. Unfortunately for Jamieson, a wayward drive resulted in a lost ball and double-bogey six, handing Fairfax a 3 and 2 win.

It’s Fairfax’s first big win since returning to Queensland earlier this year to start his second year of his PGA Traineeship at Redland Bay Golf Club.

“This really does mean a lot. To have my name on a trophy that has been donated by the Pampling Family is a dream and I really do thank Rod and Ange for their continual support of PGA Trainees in Australia,” said Fairfax.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy match and although I held a good lead at the halfway mark, I knew there was still plenty of golf to be played out. Dean really put some heat on at different times throughout the final 18 holes, but I’m just so happy to have hung in there and be walking away with the win.

“My body is sore and stiff after a long four days but I know the PGA Trainees are very thankful to everyone involved in such an outstanding event."

Although disappointed, Jamieson was humble in his loss.

“Gav really played some good golf today and although I was able to somewhat get back into the match at times, unfortunately I let myself down with some simple errors,” said Jamieson.

“It really has been an incredible week and I am very thankful to have made it this far in my first year. I am pleased with my week, especially when I thought I may not even get through the first round of qualifying on Monday with my knee.”

In the contest for the consolation playoff for third, Jacomb Borra has put the disappointment of losing his semi-final yesterday to beat Sam Price on the 19^th hole.

Redland Bay PGA Trainee Professional Gavin Fairfax has overcome a three-shot deficit in the closing round of the 2018 Pampling Plate to be the leading qualifier heading into the opening round of match play.

Blustery conditions made for difficult scoring conditions throughout the qualifying rounds, though it was Fairfax that bucked the scoring trend to close with a 6-under par 65, and finish with a five-shot cushion.

Fairfax finished at 5-under for the 36 holes qualifying, with first-round leader Dean Jamieson succumbing somewhat to the conditions over the final nine holes to finish second.

“It wasn’t easy out there with the wind today and to be honest I really did ride my luck at certain points throughout the day,” said Fairfax.

“It’s a different game heading into the match play stages. You need things to go your way somewhat, as you never know what your opponent is going to bring to the first tee of your match.

“The Caboolture course can be played many different ways and there will no doubt be many different driving lines chosen throughout the knock out stages. It’s a great risk reward course, so hopefully I can make my way through the opening rounds and give myself a shot at lifting the Pampling Plate on Thursday.”

Fairfax will face third-year PGA Trainee Arthur Rienstra in the opening round, while Jamieson will take on fellow first-year PGA Trainee Stephen match play.

The round of 32 match play is underway, followed by the round of 16 this afternoon.

For all scores from the 2018 Pampling Plate please click here.

The quarter-finals of the Pampling Plate have been decided, with the top two seeds in Gavin Fairfax and Dean Jamieson making their way through Tuesday’s opening rounds.

Fairfax made light work of his opening two opponents, only required to play 29 holes with his 5&4 win over Arthur Rienstra and 5&3 win over last year’s runner-up Dean Dagan in the afternoon.

Jamieson didn’t have it quite so easy, although a 5&4 win over Joshua Bevan in the second round has given him a little rest ahead of quarterfinal matchup tomorrow with Rommel Quidim.

“Today was a tough day following yesterday’s 36 hole qualifying. It could have easily been an early exit, as I was somewhat lucky to have made it through my opening round match against Stephen Klease,” said Jamieson.

“It doesn’t get any easier tomorrow, and I just hope the knee injury I sustained a couple of months back holds up, given the number of rounds we play this week.”

The standout performance, however, belonged to Victoria Park’s Stuart Irving. Irving put behind him a string of poor performances of late to claim the big scalp of Christopher Crooks in the opening round and followed that win up with a 2&1 victory over Charles Wright.

Match play is known for surprises and Irving is no doubt the dark horse of the quarterfinals as he looks to secure a semi-final berth tomorrow morning when he takes on Jacob Borra.

“I really didn’t think I would go this deep into the matchplay, especially when the draw was released and I was drawn against two of the top five players from the Queensland Order of Merit over the opening two rounds,” said Irving.

“Today was all about limiting the mistakes and trusting what I am doing out on the course and that is exactly what happened as the results show.

“I am really looking forward to tomorrow and given my performance from today, anything is achievable.”

The quarter final lineups include;

Gavin Fairfax (Redland Bay) Vs Cooper Eccleston (Victoria Park)

Samuel Price (Sanctuary Cove) Vs Tanner Jackson (Mt Warren Park)

Dean Jamieson (Hills) Vs Rommel Quidim (Virginia)

Jacomb Borra (Coolangatta) Vs Stuart Irving (Victoria Park)

Quarterfinals tee off at 6:45am Wednesday morning at Caboolture Golf Club.