VINTAGE O’Malley Claims A Win for the Ages
Veteran Peter O’Malley broke a five-year drought by winning three-man play-off for the New South Wales Open golf title.
O’Malley (72), English amateur Tom Lewis (66) and South Australian Peter Cooke (66) all finished on 270, 18-under-par at The Vintage course in the Hunter Valley.
Cook, who shot a course record 61 in the first round, dropped out after the first play-off hole.
O’Malley and 19-year-old Lewis, who was making his first trip to Australia, played the 18th hole two more times before a result was reached.
Lewis, the current English and British Boys’ champion could only bogey the third play-off hole, while 45-year-old O’Malley clinched the $20,250 first prize with a par four.
Earlier in the day, O’Malley looked in control, recordeing three straight birdies from the fourth hole to go to 18-under.
However, he opened the door for the chasing pack with a triple bogie seven on the par-four 11th and a bogey five at the 13th, squandering a five shot lead.
“I wanted to go out there and play some solid golf and I did that for the first 10 holes, but I made a bit of a stuff up on 11 and gave everyone a bit of a chance,” O’Malley said.
Lewis made birdies on four straight holes from the fourth.
He found the water on the par-three eighth, which he double-bogeyed for the second time this week.
He notched one more bogey and birdie before joining O’Malley in the lead with an eagle-three on the 14th.
“I thought Peter O’Malley would run away with it after I saw his name on 18-under and I thought I was just playing for second,” Lewis said.
“My aim for the week was to get double figures (under par). I was really pleased with getting into the play-offs.”
The triumph was O’Malley’s first tournament win since the 2005 New Zealand PGA, and ended a string of near misses at the New South Wales Open in which he has finished second on at least three occasions.
“I haven’t actually given myself a chance at all this year, so it’s pleasing to be in the winners circle,” he said.
Despite his lengthy drought, O’Malley said he went into the tournament feeling pretty confident after a good couple of opening rounds at the recent Australian Masters.
“I felt like I had good golf coming for a while,” he said.
“I’ve been gearing up for (next week’s Australian Open at) The Lakes. I’m a member out there, it’s a tournament that I’ve been wanting to try and do well in, so this gives me a lot of confidence.”
Tournament host Nathan Green (75) tied for 15th on 278.
| Pos | Player | State/Nat | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Tot | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter O'Malley |  | 65 | 67 | 66 | 72 | 270 | -14 |
| 2= | Tom Lewis (a) |  | 68 | 67 | 69 | 66 | 270 | -14 |
| 2= | Peter Cooke |  | 61 | 73 | 69 | 67 | 270 | -14 |
| 4= | Daniel Fox |  | 70 | 71 | 65 | 66 | 272 | -12 |
| 4= | Matt Jager | | 67 | 69 | 68 | 68 | 272 | -12 |
| 4= | Aaron Townsend | | 70 | 66 | 68 | 68 | 272 | -12 |
| 7= | Chris Gaunt |  | 72 | 69 | 65 | 67 | 273 | -11 |
| 7= | Kieran Pratt | | 68 | 70 | 69 | 66 | 273 | -11 |
| 9 | Damon Welsford |  | 67 | 65 | 72 | 70 | 274 | -10 |
| 10 | Ben Wharton | | 73 | 68 | 66 | 68 | 275 | -9 |
| 11= | Bronson La'Cassie |  | 74 | 67 | 70 | 65 | 276 | -8 |
| 11= | Adam Stephens | | 71 | 65 | 74 | 66 | 276 | -8 |
| 13= | Andrew Martin | | 67 | 68 | 70 | 72 | 277 | -7 |
| 13= | Jordan Sherratt | | 66 | 67 | 74 | 70 | 277 | -7 |
| 15= | Steve Jones | | 71 | 69 | 71 | 67 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Peter Nolan | | 70 | 69 | 71 | 68 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Michael Brennan | | 69 | 67 | 74 | 68 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Nick Cullen | | 70 | 71 | 68 | 69 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Matthew Millar | | 71 | 71 | 64 | 72 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Lincoln Tighe (a) | | 70 | 70 | 67 | 71 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Nathan Green | | 64 | 69 | 70 | 75 | 278 | -6 |
| 15= | Matthew Stieger (a) | | 72 | 69 | 67 | 70 | 278 | -6 |
| 23= | Anthony Brown | | 68 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 279 | -5 |
| 23= | Anthony Summers | | 71 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 279 | -5 |
| 23= | Peter Wilson | | 66 | 69 | 73 | 71 | 279 | -5 |
| 26 | Brad Lamb | | 73 | 69 | 65 | 73 | 280 | -4 |
| 27= | Brent McCullough | | 73 | 69 | 69 | 70 | 281 | -3 |
| 27= | Brad Shilton |  | 68 | 73 | 71 | 69 | 281 | -3 |
| 27= | Simon Furneaux | | 71 | 68 | 74 | 68 | 281 | -3 |
| 27= | Gareth Paddison | | 72 | 68 | 68 | 73 | 281 | -3 |
| 31= | Neven Basic | | 71 | 71 | 69 | 71 | 282 | -2 |
| 31= | Heath Reed | | 68 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 282 | -2 |
| 31= | Matthew Griffin | | 67 | 71 | 69 | 75 | 282 | -2 |
| 34= | Craig Hancock |  | 71 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 283 | -1 |
| 34= | Jason Norris | | 73 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 283 | -1 |
| 34= | Richie Caracella | | 67 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 283 | -1 |
| 34= | Nathan Page | | 74 | 67 | 67 | 75 | 283 | -1 |
| 38= | Mark Gilson | | 69 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 284 | EVEN |
| 38= | Kyle Grant (a) | | 70 | 71 | 72 | 71 | 284 | EVEN |
| 40 | Martin Doyle | | 70 | 71 | 69 | 75 | 285 | 1 |
| 41= | Andrew Evans | | 66 | 75 | 73 | 72 | 286 | 2 |
| 41= | Lucas Bates | | 68 | 71 | 70 | 77 | 286 | 2 |
| 43= | Steven Bowditch | | 69 | 72 | 70 | 76 | 287 | 3 |
| 43= | Adam Porker | | 69 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 287 | 3 |
| 43= | Mitchell Brown | | 67 | 74 | 69 | 77 | 287 | 3 |
| 46= | Luke Bleumink | | 71 | 71 | 68 | 78 | 288 | 4 |
| 46= | Rowan Beste | | 71 | 71 | 75 | 71 | 288 | 4 |
| 48= | Ryan Hammond | | 70 | 72 | 71 | 76 | 289 | 5 |
| 48= | Henry Epstein | | 66 | 71 | 77 | 75 | 289 | 5 |
| 50 | Marcus Cain | | 74 | 68 | 74 | 76 | 292 | 8 |
| 51= | Nicholas Piani | | 69 | 73 | 73 | 78 | 293 | 9 |
| 51= | Raff Toperoso | | 69 | 71 | 81 | 72 | 293 | 9 |
| 53 | James Carr | | 68 | 74 | 79 | 73 | 294 | 10 |
| 54 | Chris Hartas | | 69 | 73 | 81 | 73 | 296 | 12 |
| 55 | Rohan Blizard | | 67 | 68 | 72 | DSQ | DSQ | |
| Players Below Failed to Make The Cut | ||||||||
| 56= | David Randall (a) | | 71 | 72 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Stephen Leaney | | 74 | 69 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Jamie Arnold | | 72 | 71 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Kurt Carlson | | 72 | 71 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Damien Jordan | | 71 | 72 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Michael Bell (Am) | | 73 | 70 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Brendan Smith | | 71 | 72 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Adam Crawford | | 71 | 72 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Brad McIntosh | | 68 | 75 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Mahal Pearce | | 73 | 70 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Mathew Holten | | 72 | 71 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 56= | Shaun Harmer | | 70 | 73 | 143 | 1 | ||
| 68= | Bradley Hughes | | 70 | 74 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | David Bransdon | | 75 | 69 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Ashley Hall | | 71 | 73 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Clint Rice | | 72 | 72 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Rhys McGovern | | 74 | 70 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Andre Stolz | | 71 | 73 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Michael Smyth (a) | | 67 | 77 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Adam Downton (a) | | 73 | 71 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 68= | Guy Wall (a) | | 73 | 71 | 144 | 2 | ||
| 77= | Dean Mulley | | 72 | 73 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Tim Hart (a) | | 71 | 74 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Aaron Black | | 72 | 73 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Terry Price | | 70 | 75 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Brendan Chant | | 73 | 72 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Josh Younger | | 72 | 73 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Leigh Deagan | | 72 | 73 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 77= | Matthew T Jones | | 75 | 70 | 145 | 3 | ||
| 85= | Craig Hasthorpe | | 76 | 70 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Paul Marantz | | 70 | 76 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Peter Welden | | 74 | 72 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Hamish Robertson | | 73 | 73 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Nathan Uebergang | | 74 | 72 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Woo-Hyun Kim |  | 74 | 72 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | J.O. Lee | Other Representation | 75 | 71 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Michael Foster | | 77 | 69 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Brett Drewitt (a) | | 70 | 76 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Stuart Bouvier | | 75 | 71 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Leigh McKechnie | | 75 | 71 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Craig Scott | | 71 | 75 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Josh Lane | | 72 | 74 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Martin Dive | | 73 | 73 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 85= | Michael Etherington | | 73 | 73 | 146 | 4 | ||
| 100= | Chris Carey | | 75 | 72 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Grant Moorhead | | 73 | 74 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Jordan Zunic (a) | | 72 | 75 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Kevin Conlong | | 73 | 74 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Scott Hill | | 74 | 73 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Michael Raseta (a) | | 74 | 73 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Andrew McKenzie | | 73 | 74 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 100= | Ricky Schmidt | | 76 | 71 | 147 | 5 | ||
| 108= | Scott Priest | | 70 | 78 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Andrew Kelly | | 75 | 73 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Brenden Stuart | | 76 | 72 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Richard Talsma | | 73 | 75 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Matthew Ballard | | 71 | 77 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Dustin Knight | | 76 | 72 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Chris Smith (a) | | 72 | 76 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Michael Williams (a) | | 71 | 77 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Doug Holloway | | 75 | 73 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 108= | Shaun Cooneyworth | | 73 | 75 | 148 | 6 | ||
| 118= | Ricky Kato (a) | | 77 | 72 | 149 | 7 | ||
| 118= | Jarrod Santi (a) | | 75 | 74 | 149 | 7 | ||
| 118= | Paul Spargo | | 80 | 69 | 149 | 7 | ||
| 118= | Dale Clarke | | 68 | 81 | 149 | 7 | ||
| 122= | Paul Donahoo | | 73 | 77 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Steve Collins | | 75 | 75 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Ed Stedman | | 74 | 76 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Taylor Cooper | | 78 | 72 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Euan Walters | | 78 | 72 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Sam Brazel | | 73 | 77 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Alex Lewis | | 74 | 76 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | David Diaz | | 78 | 72 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Rudi Bezuidenhout | | 75 | 75 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 122= | Brad Andrews | | 77 | 73 | 150 | 8 | ||
| 132= | Timothy Hosking | | 78 | 73 | 151 | 9 | ||
| 132= | Matthew Gleeson (a) | | 74 | 77 | 151 | 9 | ||
| 132= | Kyle Mathieson (a) | | 73 | 78 | 151 | 9 | ||
| 135= | Brett Rankin (a) | | 74 | 78 | 152 | 10 | ||
| 135= | Craig Warren | | 74 | 78 | 152 | 10 | ||
| 135= | Dean Meagher | | 76 | 76 | 152 | 10 | ||
| 135= | Paul Sainsbury (a) | | 78 | 74 | 152 | 10 | ||
| 135= | Andrius Belkus (a) | | 75 | 77 | 152 | 10 | ||
| 140 | David Paddison | | 73 | 80 | 153 | 11 | ||
| 141= | John Onions | | 72 | 82 | 154 | 12 | ||
| 141= | Adam Wilcox | | 82 | 72 | 154 | 12 | ||
| 141= | Alex Pitty (a) | | 75 | 79 | 154 | 12 | ||
| 141= | Richard Backwell | | 73 | 81 | 154 | 12 | ||
| 141= | Sean Underwood (a) | | 75 | 79 | 154 | 12 | ||
| 146= | Callan O'Reilly (a) | | 77 | 78 | 155 | 13 | ||
| 146= | Cameron Smith (a) | | 80 | 75 | 155 | 13 | ||
| 146= | Byong Hun Son (a) | | 79 | 76 | 155 | 13 | ||
| 149 | Ronald Su'a Walker (a) | | 76 | 80 | 156 | 14 | ||
| 150= | Kristopher Mueck | | 74 | 83 | 157 | 15 | ||
| 150= | Steven Slappendel (a) | | 80 | 77 | 157 | 15 | ||
| 152 | Correy Price | | 84 | 75 | 159 | 17 | ||
| 153 | Jason Shine | | 86 | 74 | 160 | 18 | ||
| 154 | Nathan Main | | 85 | 76 | 161 | 19 | ||
| 155 | Daniel Yu (a) | | 77 | 87 | 164 | 22 | ||
| 156 | Bradley Fasher | | 79 | RTD | RTD | |||