Australian Mitchell Brown beat compatriot Ashley Hall in a sudden-death playoff Sunday to win the New Zealand PGA golf championship.
Brown parred the first hole of the playoff - the difficult 18th at the par-72 Clearwater Resort - while Hall missed a putt and bogeyed. The win was Brown's first in four years as a professional.
Brown and Hall finished level at 281, 7-under par, after 72 holes, one shot ahead of New Zealander Grant Moorhead. Hall held a one-shot lead over Brown late in his round but fell back into a playoff after dropping a shot on the 18th hole.
Brown shot a final-round 68, Hall a 73 and Moorehead 71.
``It's always a good thing when you're in the clubhouse and there's guys coming in because it's a lot easier to drop shots than it is to make them,'' Brown said.
``He (Hall) is a good mate of mine, we travel together a lot and we were actually roommates for about two years on the Asian tour. We play practice rounds together and everything so it was good, it was a bit of fun.''
