<image="1" align="right" />Aaron Townsend has claimed a decisive seven-shot win in the NSW Open, his maiden Von Nida Tour victory.
The 27-year-old local favourite finished with a three-under-par 68 to complete a dominant display while Victorian Steve Jones finished in second place at 10 under the card.
Last week’s NSW PGA Championship winner Tim Wood finished in third place on eight under par while Sydney’s Jamie Arnold and newly turned pro Matthew Griffin were tied fourth a further two shots back.
Townsend was delighted to get his first tour title.
"I can say enough about how special this is," he said.
"My first one, to win the NSW Open is tremendous."
"I tried not to look at the leaderboard, or too much that was going on around me and just tried to think if I play well and just try to take care of what I do then it will make it hard for anyone to try to catch me, so I was really happy with how I played. "
New Zealander Michael Long was crowned the 2008 Von Nida Tour Money List winner. The Perth-based veteran clinched the 2008 Von Nida Money List Trophy by $760.00 over Townsend.
Final leading scores at the NSW Open at The Vintage
1, Aaron Townsend, -17, 63, 67, 69, 68, 267
2, Steven Jones, -10, 65, 71, 70, 68, 274
3, Timothy Wood, -8, 73, 67, 68, 68, 276
T4, Jamie Arnold, -6, 62, 73, 70, 73, 278
T4, Matthew Griffin, -6, 67, 71, 71, 69, 278
6, Bradley Andrews, -5, 69, 74, 68, 68, 279
T7, Benjamin Burge, -3, 71, 68, 71, 71, 281
T7, Brad Lamb, -3, 69, 72, 68, 72, 281
T7, Peter Nolan, -3, 71, 71, 72, 67, 281
T10, Aaron Black, -2, 68, 70, 70, 74, 282
T10, Ryan Hammond, -2, 66, 72, 73, 71, 282
T10, Brendan Smith, -2, 71, 73, 67, 71, 282
T13, Michael Brennan, -1, 72, 69, 72, 70, 283
T13, Leigh McKechnie, -1, 70, 68, 73, 72, 283
T13, James Nitties, -1, 72, 70, 73, 68, 283
T13, Jason Norris, -1, 69, 72, 74, 68, 283
T13, Peter Wilson, -1, 75, 69, 69, 70, 283
T18, Matthew Ballard, E, 69, 70, 72, 73, 284
T18, Craig Scott, E, 70, 74, 69, 71, 284
T18, Tim Stewart, E, 69, 73, 71, 71, 284
T18, Michael Williams, E, 67, 74, 70, 73, 284