After a marathon final day, Lucien Tinkler has won the 2017 Australian Legends Tour Championship at Byron Bay Golf Club.

Starting the day in a tie for the lead alongside playing partner Michael Harwood, Tinkler fired 2-under 70 in the final round to finish at 6-under 210 for the tournament, one shot ahead of Harwood.

Tinkler led for most of the day, and was two in front as the pair stood on the 15^th tee. A poor tee shot by Tinkler led to a double bogey six, and when Harwood rolled in his birdie putt, Harwood found himself in the lead with three holes to play.

Tinkler wasn’t deterred by the situation and when he made birdie at the 17^th hole, the duo headed to the final tee all square.

Unfortunately for Harwood, his drive would find the water down the right, the penalty drop resulting in a bogey five. Tinkler the made the most of the opening and after his par putt found the bottom of the cup, he was crowned the Australian Legends Tour champion.

“It’s a great feeling to win in Byron Bay. Many great players have won this championship before me, so it’s a proud moment for me to add my name to the illustrious list,” said Tinkler.

“I jumped out well birding three of my first four holes and although I had opened up a lead, I knew I couldn’t get too far ahead of myself as Mike was playing well.”

“There was a bit of a mishap at the 15^th, I hit a really poor tee shot which resulted in two dropped shots. It was far from ideal, but I didn’t let it faze me, and it was really pleasing to make the up and down on the last to claim the title.”

Players will now make the trek north for the Noosa Legends Pro-Am on Tuesday, before the Sunshine Coast Masters tees off at Twin Waters and Pelican Waters on Wednesday.

A solid opening round of 4-under par 68 has Victorian Professional Peter Woodward in front following day one of the Australian Legends Tour Championship.

Woodward leads the way by one shot over Michael Harwood and Lucien Tinkler a last start winner at Lismore. A further five players including past winners, Rodger Davis, David Merriman and defending champion Steven Conran, find themselves a further two shots behind in a tie for fourth.

A solid opening nine had Woodward at one under thinking and although he knew he needed to make a few birdies, he wasn’t expecting what happened next.

Birdie at 10 was followed by a par at 11, before Woodward reached the 146 metre par three, 12^th hole. A perfectly executed 7iron found the bottom of the cup not only to record the sixth ace of his career, but more importantly to get his round to 4-under par for the round.

“After making birdie at 10, I thought now was the time to make a move, I never envisaged making the ace at 12 being the move that I would make,” said Woodward.

“It was the perfect shot. I knew the shot that I was trying to hit, but even when I executed it perfectly it never entered my mind that it would go in.

“The field here this week is exceptional and although I may be leading after round one, there still plenty of work to do over the weekend. I am feeling good about my game and although it may be difficult to make any more hole-in-ones, hopefully I will continue to see the putts fall on the final two days.”

Round two of the Australian Legends Tour Championship tees off tomorrow morning at 6:51am with Woodward teeing off at 8:21am.

For further information on the Australian Legends Tour Championship, please click here.