South Australia Amateur winner Zach Murray
(Golf South Australia Photo)

Murray carded rounds of 73, 72, 68, 69 (282) to finish one ahead of three players tied at 5-under, Western Australian’s Min Woo Lee and Ben Ferguson and overnight leader Douglas Klein.

With Klein and Ferguson struggling, Lee skyrocketed to the lead thru 11 holes moving to 6-under, but once again had trouble on the hardest hole on the course the 442mtr par 4, 14th making bogey (he made triple in round three).

Murray maintained is composure though, playing error-free golf all week, recording no doubles for the championship and was one of only four players to shoot sub-par final rounds in tricky conditions on Royal Adelaide’s championship course.

“I started well, I chipped in on the first hole for birdie, but then I bogeyed the second and birdied the third, then played pretty steady from then on in. I was one-under thru 11 and made a couple of solid pars.

“I then hit a great shot into 14 to about three foot and made that for birdie, then I hit a six iron from 210m on 15 to about two foot for eagle, so that was a big help.

“I missed a couple of pretty makeable putts coming down the stretch, I thought if I could get to 7 or 8-under I would be pretty close to it and I thought my putt on the last was probably to get me into a playoff, but as it turns out it was for the win”

“It was a good day. I played pretty steady all week I just didn’t putt that great, but my ball striking was pretty good.”

Murray in the second to last group with Sam Earl (77) and Josh Armstrong (74) closed it out well.

“I was pretty happy, I was a little bit nervous on the last hole but it was good to get up and down. with the ball ricocheting off Sam’s ball from the bunker. I got a little bit lucky there, but you take them when you get them I guess, they don’t come very often.

Murray now adds the Classic to his building resume that includes a win at the Master of The Amateurs in 2015.

“I’ve been playing relatively well over the last three of four months, I came second in the Master of the Amateurs and made the cut at the Australian Open in November so I have been playing pretty good, so it was good to get a win today,” Murray added.

Western Australian Kiran Day finished outright 5th with four rounds of 71 while SA’s Lachlan Barker from Glenelg Golf Club fired and even par final round to finish 2-under and tied sixth.

Next best South Australian was Jasckson Kalz (Glenelg) at 1-over (tied 8th) followed by Andrew Nakone Jnr (The Grange) and Sam Earl (Glenelg) 2-over (tied 10th).

-Editors Note: Story by Golf South Australia