A sizzling second round in atrocious conditions and a clutch putt on the second last hole sealed Queenslander Brad Burns the NSW Senior Open title at Thurgoona Country Club Resort on Sunday.
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Burns carded a three-over par 75 in the final round, but held on to finish with a 10-under score of 206 to beat fast-finishing Peter Fowler by a shot with Lucien Tinkler back in third at six-under.
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Peter O'Malley and Peter Lonard (four under) rounded out the top five.
Burns was stunned to see his drive on the par-four 17th just two metres from a gum tree.
"I thought I hit the fairway, it ended up behind a tree, into the bunker and (holed a) 12-14 footer there," he said.
Fowler's charge hit a hurdle when he bogeyed the par-three 16th over the water.
Burns started the day with a seven-shot lead from Tinkler after a blistering 65 on day two in strong winds and rain.
"I one-putted the last eight greens, actually I think I had 12 putts in the last 11 greens, the putter was red-hot," he said.
Only a handful of players shot under par in the brutal conditions.
"We played Worrigee (NSW south coast) in 89km breezes, hurricane I suppose, I ended up shooting two-under and had a win, so I don't mind playing in the wind," he said.
The final day was the best of the three-day tournament, but Burns' ability to manufacture pars with the putter was crucial.
On the par-four 13th, he was 15m off the green, but putted the ball superbly to within a metre and did likewise on the 16th from 17m.
They were bold shots from three-putt territory.
"I think it's more of a Queensland thing mate because we get fairly rough surrounds of greens up there," he said.
Burns pocketed almost $22,000 for the 54-hole event, which is the richest on the Legends Tour (50 and over) circuit with a total prize pool of $120,000.
The 53-year-old's win also lifts him in the Order of Merit - which he's won the past two years - from fourth at the start of the tournament.