Travis Smyth lived the dream today to win the time-honoured Riversdale Cup in Melbourne in a playoff.
Smyth, the overnight leader, was overtaken by a rampant Lucas Herbert (68) during the round.
The St. Michael’s and Kiama golf member member stood on the final tee two shots behind Herbert, and when the Bendigo golfer drove it in the greenside bunker on the short par-four closing hole, the tournament appeared his for the taking.
But Smyth (70) hung tough, made a birdie and when Herbert made two errant chips, suddenly found himself in a tie at eight under par.
Remarkably, he then birdied the 18th while the Golf Australia national squad member made a second consecutive bogey and Smyth joined an illustrious list of previous winners, including Aaron Baddeley and Robert Allenby.
In the women’s event, New Zealander Munchin Keh won comfortably by six shots from her sister Wenyung despite her sibling roaring home with a five-under-par 68.
But Munchin Keh had too big a lead for anyone to get near her and held off her sister, Perth’s Hannah Green and Phillipines’ star Princess Superal who were tied for second.
Finally after a tough week of scoring at the pristine Riversdale Golf Club, there were some other great scores of note in the final round.
Bellarine Peninsula ace Ben Eccles continued his outstanding recent form with a closing six-under-par 66 to lead into a tie for fourth with national squad member and defending champ Ryan Ruffels at three under.
Ruffels, who ground hard after opening rounds of 75 and 74, was charging home, but even his closing weekend 68s weren’t enough to undo the damage.
Another impressive effort from came from the emerging Brett Coletta, whose 68 left him outright third at five under overall.
His fellow national squad player Jarryd Felton also recorded a top-10 finish at one over, alongside three other players including impressive 15-year-old and first-round leader Cameron John.
Midway leader Taylor Macdonald closed with a 74 to finish alongside Eccles and Ruffels in T4.
By: Mark Hayes (Golf Australia)