It took five extra holes, but Joanne Mills overcame Sarah Kemp to win the inaugural LG/Bing Lee NSW Women’s Open at Oatlands Golf Club.
Mills, who grew up playing golf at Oatlands, started the day in equal second but fired a three-under 70 to quickly move up the leaderboard.
But Kemp was relentless in her pursuit as she went two strokes better to finish at 10-under and force a playoff.
The pair went shot for shot in the decider but the decisive blow came on the fifth hole when Mills made birdie on the par three-18th to claim victory.
Ladies’ European Tour Rookie of the Year, Nikki Garrett, led the field into the final round but saw her chances of victory evaporate with a double-bogey on the par three-12th and a bogey on 13.
Despite making ground late in her round, Garrett had to settle for third.
US Tour player Wendy Doolan was fourth and Tamie Durdin faded to equal-11th after shooting a tournament low 67 in the opening round.
But the tournament belonged to Mills who was delighted to clinch victory in front of friends, family and fellow members at Oatlands Golf Club.
Final scores from the NSW Women’s Open:
-10: Joanne Mills 70 69 70 (won on fifth playoff hole), Sarah Kemp 72 69 68
-9: Nikki Garrett 68 70 72
-8: Wendy Doolan 70 69 72
-6: a-Haeji Kang 71 72 70, a-Helen Oh 71 69 73, a-Sarah Oh 72 69 72, Carlie Butler 69 70 74
-5: a-Jessica Noh 71 71 72, Tamie Durdin 67 74 73