Queenslander William Bruyeres claimed his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australia win today at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club, fighting back from five shots behind early in the final round to snare the 2024 PNG Open.

Bruyeres carded a four-under 68 on the final day to finish his week at 17-under-par, holding off runner-up James Conran (NSW) by two shots, with overnight leader Andrew Campbell third at 14-under.

While a first win on tour was always going to be a memorable one, Bruyeres’ connection to PNG made it more the special. His grandfather spent a lot of time in the country and is buried there.

“My dad was sending me pictures of all the trophies my grandpa had won here and leading into the event, it just kind of felt more special to me,” he said.

With only one prior top-10 finish on tour,  Bruyeres was in an unusual position as he came down the stretch today, but he birdied three of his final five holes to claim his debut win, and secure his tour card for the next two seasons.

“It feels amazing, absolutely amazing, what an experience,” an ecstatic Bruyeres said post-round. 

“Today was an up and down day and I didn’t play my best golf, but I got it around and at the end of the day it ended up working out for me.

“I’m now locked into the winners’ category and have a card for a couple of years, plus financial backing now. This was huge for me so absolutely stoked.”

With one of the rounds of the day on Saturday, a seven-under-par 65, Bruyeres found himself in the final group on Sunday, starting just a shot behind leader Campbell, but an early double-bogey meant the 28-year-old based at Brookwater Golf & Country Club had a fight on his hands from the get-go.

Eventual runner-up Conran made the early move by going out in five-under and looked like he might run away with the trophy and the biggest win of his career.

Shrugging off the double-bogey quickly though, Bruyeres was able to get his PNG Open quest back on track, helped too by a stroke of luck on the par-5 ninth.

“My ball rolled into a hole, so I had to play it where it was, hit it, and it skipped and one-hopped in,” he said of the unlikely eagle. “That was a bit of luck, but it still went in so I took it and kept going.”

As both Conran and Campbell dropped multiple shots on the back nine, Bruyeres kept making birdies, and by the time he stood on the par-3 18th tee, the Queenslander held a two-shot lead.

The buffer allowed Bruyeres the comfort of making a bogey on the 72nd hole and still secure the first title of the 2024-2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season.

The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia next heads to Kalgoorlie Golf Club for the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics, starting on October 10.