A day after enduring the embarrassment of cold-topping a drive off the first tee at 13th Beach, Australian golfer Dimi Papadatos has conquered brutal conditions to claim a two-stroke triumph at the Vic Open.
The 25-year was rock-solid in cold and windy conditions on Sunday, mixing two birdies with a solitary bogey in a one-under 71.
Papadatos's four-round total of 16-under 272 left him two shots clear of fellow Australians Adam Bland and Jake McLeod.
Left-hander Richard Green - the 2015 Vic Open champ - and David McKenzie were a stroke further back in a tie for fourth.
For much of the final day, Lucas Herbert shaped as the biggest danger to his playing partner Papadatos, only to drop four shots in the closing five holes to slip back to a tie for sixth.
Any chance of victory must have seemed a long way away for Papadatos when his cold-topped opening tee shot on Saturday travelled just 35 metres, although he did regroup quickly to par the hole.
"I was telling my caddy that it happens, great players have done it, I've read in books Sam Snead doing something like that," said Papadatos.
"It's just a lapse in concentration - everyone knows how tough golf is.
"Just a slip-up like that can make you feel bad - but it's a game of millimetres."
There were no such blemishes on Sunday when conditions were at their toughest.
"There were times when I was allowing four clubs for the wind and I was still coming up one and half clubs short," he said.
Papadatos admitted he struggled badly on the European Tour last year, but is looking forward to having another crack there in 2017, with this victory securing his Australasian Tour card for three years.
Herbert's last chance of mounting a challenge disappeared on the par-five 18th hole, when his tee shot trickled off the left edge of the fairway into thick rough.
Despite the tough lie he was left with no choice but to attack the green.
The 21-year-old lashed his second shot out of bounds, finishing with a double bogey.
"Unfortunately it didn't pay off but I thought it was worth a crack," said Herbert.
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