Queenslander William Bruyeres has claimed his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australia title, fighting back from a five-shot deficit early in the final round to snare the PNG Open.
Bruyeres carded a four-under-par 68 at Royal Port Moresby on Sunday to finish at 17-under, holding off James Conran (NSW) by two shots, with overnight leader Andrew Campbell (NSW)third at 14-under.
While a first win on Tour was always going to be a memorable one, Bruyeres' connection to PNG made it more the special. His grandfather spent a lot of time in the country and is buried there.
"My dad was sending me pictures of all the trophies my grandpa had won here, and leading into the event it just kind of felt more special to me," he said.
With only one previous top-10 finish on Tour, Bruyeres birdied three of his final five holes to claim his first win and secure his Tour card for the next two seasons.
"It feels amazing, absolutely amazing, what an experience," he said.
"Today was an up-and-down day and I didn't play my best golf, but I got it around and at the end of the day it ended up working out for me.
"I'm now locked into the winners' category and have a card for a couple of years, plus financial backing now. This was huge for me."
After one of the rounds of the day on Saturday, a seven-under 65, Bruyeres found himself in the final group on Sunday, starting just a shot behind Campbell. However, an early double-bogey meant the 28-year-old had a fight on his hands from the get-go.
Eventual runner-up Conran made the early move, going out in five-under, and looked like he might run away with the trophy.
Regrouping after his double-bogey, Bruyeres was able to get his quest back on track, helped too by a stroke of luck on the par-5 ninth.
"My ball rolled into a hole, so I had to play it where it was, hit it, and it skipped and one-hopped in," he said of an unlikely eagle.
With Conran and Campbell dropping multiple shots on the back nine, Bruyeres kept making birdies, and by the time he stood on the tee at the par-3 18th he held a two-shot lead.
The buffer allowed Bruyeres the comfort of making a bogey on the 72nd hole and still securing the first title of the 2024/25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season.
