Stuart Appleby clinched his first Australian Open and his first tournament victory in more than two years yesterday.
Appleby beat fellow Australian Scott Laycock by three strokes after a terrific final round battle between the pair which became a virtual matchplay dog-fight with the rest of the field out of the reckoning.
They went into the final round as joint leaders at seven-under and with a three-stroke buffer.
Appleby, who has won three US PGA Tour events, carded a final round six-under 65, a course-equalling record, to finish with a 13-under 271 total.
Laycock, who led by a shot after two holes and was level with Appleby at 12-under with four holes remaining, closed with a 68 for a 10-under 274 total.
South African world number four Ernie Els finished third after a final round 67 for a 276 total but he never pushed the leaders, while Rod Pampling, who led after the first round with Els, shot a final day 67 to finish seven strokes off the pace.
American big-hitter Charles Howell III fired a final round 67 to finish the Aus$1.5 million tournament one-under 283 while Denmark's leading player Thomas Bjorn hit a final round 73 for 286.
The 30-year-old's triumph helped erase bitter memories of the 1998 Australian Open in Adelaide when he tied for second with Peter Senior, one behind Greg Chalmers, just months after Appleby's wife, Renay, was killed in a freak traffic accident in London.
Appleby was the only player here to secure four sub-par rounds, despite a triple bogey on the par-five 12th on the opening day.
His first triumph since the 1999 Houston Open was all the more remarkable as he suffered a virus last week that left him weak.
The key to Appleby's victory was a string of four consecutive birdies, starting at the ninth, while the par-three 16th proved a pivotal hole as Appleby extended a one-shot lead to three strokes after he birdied and Laycock stumbled with a bogey.
Appleby strode down the final fairway with a four-stroke buffer and despite a wayward second shot into a green-side bunker, his victory was never in doubt, completing the tournament with a tap-in bogey five.
