Ashburton born-and-bred golfer Daniel Pearce scored a huge win in Queensland, after almost blowing a good lead.Photo Bob EnglebrightAshburton golfer Daniel Pearce almost blew an eight-shot lead but held his nerve to win the Queensland PGA Championship on the weekend.

Pearce, a member of the Ashburton Golf Club, was in a commanding position heading into Sunday’s final round at the City Golf Club in Toowomba but a horror run of bogeys in the middle of his front nine during the final round threatened to throw all the good work out the window.

After starting the day with a birdie on the first hole, Pearce then went on a bogey run through holes five to eight to bring himself back to the field.

An eagle on the 10th allowed a little breathing space before a bogey on the 18th brought him back to level with Matthew Millar, who stormed up the leader- board to force a playoff.

The first two playoff holes went to par with both players producing some quality golf, but Millar broke on the third hole putting his tee shot into a bunker and Pearce was able to two-putt his way to victory.

And despite the nail-biting way in which he achieved his first win on the tour, the 28-year-old found positives in how things panned out.

“Winning is winning, it’s awesome for the confidence,” he said.

Pearce picked up close to $19,000 for his efforts in the tournament and has moved himself into the top 20 on the PGA Australian Order of Merit with the victory.

With a confidence building win behind him, Pearce was already looking forward to the coming challenges for the remainder of the year as he continues to search for a spot on a Main Tour somewhere.

Those pathways might open themselves up if he can carry his form to China in the next few months.

“I’ve got status up in China, so I’ll be playing the PGA Tour of China when it starts around May and I will also be playing the remainder of this season in Australia.”

One of the big bonuses of the success for Pearce is due to his victory he is now exempt for the Australian PGA Tour next year – a position he has never found himself in before.

“I haven’t been exempt going into a year before so it really helps.

“Hopefully I can build on this and have a really good year and jump onto a tour somewhere.”

2017 has already been a big one for the Ashburton born and raised golfer with his wife, Sarah, giving birth to their first child four weeks ago.

Initially, Pearce’s plan was to stay at home with his family but an 11th placing at last week’s New Zealand Open gave him the confidence to have a crack at Queensland – a decision that turned out to be the right one with a view to his career on the greens.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 21 March 2017