Melbourne professional Alistair Presnell admits thoughts of the magical 59 caused late nerves as he shot a phenomenal 12-under-par 60 to snatch victory in the Victorian PGA Championship by one stroke.
The 30-year-old equalled the Australasian tour record of 60 now shared with Ernie Els (2004 Heineken Classic, Royal Melbourne) and Paul Gow (2001 Canon Challenge, Castle Hill) with his 12 birdie round on Sandhurst's North course.
He could have had the mark all to himself and earned international headlines with a 59 - a score managed only a handful of times worldwide in tour events - if he'd holed a 1.5m birdie try on the par 5 17th.
But Presnell still birdied the 18th from the same distance to equal the record and snaffle the title at 22-under 266 from overnight leaders Kurt Barnes and David Bransdon who shot closing 67s.
He had started the day a distant six shots from the lead in a share of 20th but raced through the field as he dropped birdie after birdie, including five in a row from the fifth hole and four in a row from the 11th, on his way to breaking the course record by three shots.
