by Nick Rowe

Victorian Ben Henkel secured his first professional title on Sunday in a tense final against Queenslander Dylan Gardner at the Gippsland "Super 6" event at the Warragul Country Club.

The win was reward for an excellent week's work from Henkel following rounds of 62, 61 and 70 leading into Sunday's unique "medal match play" event.
Henkel, 23, accounted for Gavin Fairfax, Jack Poutney and Corey Lamb in the preliminary matches earlier on Sunday before triumphing over his friend Gardner on the first playoff hole of the final. Corey Lamb defeated Andrew Evans in the match for third place.
The final of the $200,000 event was a topsy-turvy affair with the lead going back and forth between Henkel and Gardner over the six hole course.
Henkel, from Ocean Grove, who has grown up playing at 13th Beach and Metropolitan Golf Clubs, looked to be in trouble on the fourth hole (Warragul's 11th) when he hooked his drive almost out of bounds. Despite scrambling well from the trees he made a bogey and a one shot lead turned into a one shot deficit as Gardner made an impressive birdie after hooking his own tee shot.
Henkel drew level on the penultimate hole (Warragul's 12th) with a birdie four when Gardner was only able to make a five. With both players on two under going down the final hole (Warragul's 18th) the pressure was on.
Henkel hit the centre of the green with his tee shot only to see Gardner hit his tee shot in close with an excellent chance at birdie. Henkel just missed his putt and Gardner had a 12-foot putt to win. Agonisingly for Gardner, it just grazed the hole and stayed above ground and the pair had to walk back to the tee for a playoff.
Second time around on the 176 metre par three was a different story. Henkel found the middle of the green again but Gardner missed the green long and left. Gardner was unable to get up and down for his par leaving Henkel with a short putt to win. His nerves held steady and he holed the putt to take out his first PGA of Australiasia Challenger event.
The win was especially gratifying for Henkel as he spent more than a year out of the game after fracturing his vertebrae in a car accident in 2019. Following months of rehab, COVID struck and he spent a further year on the side lines of professional golf.
"It was a really hard, tough time, especially after getting healthier from that and then heading into COVID. A few years went by in the blink of an eye," he said.
"Just fighting to get back into the game and finding the love for it again was the hardest."
"It was amazing," said Henkel after his 28 hole Saturday. "I was so fortunate."
Henkel, Gardner and Lamb had a relatively stress free lead into Sunday as they separated themselves from the pack and earned a Sunday morning sleep in with a bye in the first round all tied at 17 under after the three stroke play rounds.
Seven players were tied for 22nd meaning they needed to go into a playoff to secure their spot in Sunday's knockout competition. Twice winner of the event, Tom Power Horan, earned a chance to add a third by holing a long birdie putt on the first playoff hole.
This left two spots for three players and James Conran and Jarrod Felton snuck through with Quinn Croker the eliminated player. The playoff battle for a first round Sunday bye was hotting up at the same time with equally tense play. Ryan Peake was the last man to earn a later start following a seven hole playoff with Brett Drewitt, Ben Eccles and Tim Hart.
Warragul Country Club and Connor McKinney were in the golf world news on Friday with the Scottish born West Australian becoming just the second player to shoot a 59 on the PGA Tour of Australasia - a feat for non golf fans, akin to scoring 300 hundred in a test match or 15 goals in the AFL such is its rarity.
McKinney shot an unbelievable nine under 26 on his second nine (Warragul's front nine) during the second round of the event.
Sitting at just three under after 27 holes, McKinney was sitting on the cut line but with seven birdies and an eagle on his final hole he made history.
McKinney didn't realise he had a chance at the historic figure until his putt. "The ninth I hit driver just all over the pin and I saw it finish 12 feet away and I was like, 'Oh wait, this is for 59'. So, I tried to just calm myself a bit and just rolled it straight in," he said.
Aside from the first prize money for Henkel, winning the Gippsland Super 6 was significant. It improves his standing on the order of merit and opens some pathways in his budding career. "It gets me into some bigger events and potentially sets up a chance at competing for one of the spots on the DP World Tour in Europe," he said.