THE third time was the charm for Nick Thomson at the Horsham Golf Club on Saturday.
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Thomson overcame a tough field to claim his maiden A Grade club championship, breaking through for victory after finishing runner-up the previous two years.
Thomson shot 78 on the final day for a four-round total of 302, three-strokes ahead of 2019 champ Lewis Gebert.
"It has definitely always been a goal of mine and I'm pretty proud of myself," Thomson said.
"After coming second the last two years, and losing by one shot in 2018, it does feel pretty good to get one.
"There's some really quality names I'm joining on the trophy."
Thomson took a six-stroke lead into the final round, but it was far from smooth-sailing for the presumptive champ.
Gerbert put the pressure on from the first hole, holing-out from 100 metres for eagle and the perfect start.
"He canned it and it was like, 'here we go'," Thomson said.
"But I sort of steadied and we were just trading shots for a while."
Thomson's lead was cut to two by the time the leading group stood on the 11th tee.
Both leaders found the bunker on the notoriously difficult par three, but it was Thomson who recovered best.
The eventual champion canned his chip for birdie, while Gerbert found some bad luck and finished with a double-bogey.
"That gave me a buffer and it was pretty much okay from there," Thomson said..
"It was an interesting day. Nerve-wracking at times, but pretty good.
"There were a couple of nervous moments, but I just played well when I had to. When the pressure was on I was just able to just hit a good shot, and holed a few nice putts as well.
"It's really great to win one."
In other results, Russell Sleep defeated Chris Becker in a play-off on Sunday, after the two were tied at 348 off the stick after the four rounds.
Gary Watts also won a play-off against Greg Eyre to claim the intermediate championship.
Ferdi Masiero meanwhile claimed the C Grade club championship with 385 across the four rounds.
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