Gareth Paddison racked up his third win on the Charles Tour when he held off New Zealand Open winner Michael Hendry in a marathon playoff to take out the Akarana Open in Auckland.
Paddison and Hendry were tied at 18 under par at the conclusion of the regulation 72 holes and a playoff was required to determine a winner.
The playoff may have been sudden-death but it was anything but. The playoff went to four extra holes, the longest in the history of the Charles Tour, before Paddison secured victory with a virtual tap-in birdie in front of a boisterous crowd.
The win was a relief for Paddison who had gone into the final round with a three-shot lead. But that lead was quickly whittled away with Hendry, the winner of the New Zealand Open just three weeks earlier, being six-under through 12 holes and Mark Brown and Henry Spring also applying pressure.
Paddison said he was well aware of the charging pack.
“Mark [Brown], Mike [Hendry] and Henry [Spring] were all coming at me,’’ Paddison said.
“When I looked at the leaderboard through 14, I knew I had to pull the finger out and that’s what you practice for.”
Paddison was the only player to score birdies on the final six holes, which he achieved on the 14th and 18th holes, and that proved the difference in him surviving.
He was delighted to prevail.
“I’m ecstatic with this victory and to finally come through with another win on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour is very special,” Paddison said with a beaming smile.
“The pride of winning this and especially beating Mike was a challenging obstacle and I couldn’t be happier.”
The win for Paddison, 36, was his third on the Charles Tour. He had also won the Akarana Open in 2015 and his first win on New Zealand’s professional golf circuit came in the Wairakei Open in 2010.
Paddison has also won five times on the Australasian Tour. They were the 2002 Dunedin Classic, the 2004 Victorian Open, the 2011 Queensland PGA and the 2012 and 2014 Victorian PGAs.
He is also a winner on the Challenge Tour in Europe. That win came in the 2007 Volcans Open in France.

Meanwhile, in the women’s field of the Akarana Open, Hanee Song completed a dominant win, which was her first as a professional golfer.
It looked in doubt after she four-putted on the par three eighth hole, but she then showed class to make an impressive eagle on the 10th to bounce back and win the tournament by four shots.
“It feels great, it’s my first win on the Charles Tour and my first win as a professional, so it feels good,” Song said.

Jennian Homes Charles Tour

Akarana Open
Men
262 * Gareth Paddison (PGA New Zealand) 66 64 64 68, Michael Hendry (PGA New Zealand) 65 68 65 64
264 Daniel Hillier (Manor Park) 73 64 62 65, Mark Brown (PGA New Zealand) 63 70 65 66, Henry Spring (Whakatane) 68 65 64 67
267 Victor Janin (Rotorua) 69 67 66 65
268 Woonchul Na (PGA New Zealand) 64 72 68 64, Josh Geary (PGA New Zealand) 67 65 69 67
269 Mark Hutson (Muriwai) 67 68 70 64, Luke Toomey (PGA New Zealand) 70 67 64 68, Douglas Holloway (PGA New Zealand) 68 66 67 68
270 David Klein (Te Anau) 71 65 71 63
271 Lachie McDonald (Marton) 67 68 73 63, Hayden Beard (Mt Maunganui) 69 65 71 66, Brad Shilton (PGA New Zealand) 68 67 69 67, Dongwoo Kang (PGA New Zealand) 68 66 69 68
272 Tae Koh (Windross Farm Golf Course) 66 68 73 65, Jared Pender (Te Puke) 67 69 67 69, Chang Gi Lee (Pupuke) 69 68 65 70, Kieran Muir (Omokoroa) 67 67 67 71
273 Tom Parker (Christchurch) 66 67 68 72
274 Jordan Woodall (Cambridge) 72 70 65 67, Tyler Hodge (Levin Inc.) 71 70 66 67
275 Harry Bateman (Muriwai) 76 63 71 65, Dale Williamson (P, Australia) 72 67 68 68
276 James Hydes (Wainui) 71 70 69 66, Ethan Jones (Manaia) 66 73 69 68, Kerry Mountcastle (Masterton) 74 68 65 69
277 Jared Edwards (The Grange) 73 66 70 68, Sean Riordan (PGA New Zealand) 69 71 69 68, Jimmy Zheng (Howick) 65 64 75 73
278 Grant Moorhead (PGA New Zealand) 70 69 72 67, Justin Morris (PGA New Zealand) 67 73 70 68, Joonsang Chung (PGA New Zealand) 66 72 71 69, Jordan Loof (Akarana) 70 66 70 72
279 Taylor Gill (Bay of Islands Kerikeri Incorporated) 68 73 70 68, Sam An (Titirangi) 72 70 66 71, Kevin Koong (Muriwai) 69 69 69 72
280 Brett Allan (Hastings) 67 73 73 67, Wesley Jeon (Whitford Park) 67 74 70 69, Trevor Marshall (PGA New Zealand) 69 72 70 69, Steven Han (PGA New Zealand) 70 71 70 69, Kwang Hue Kim (PGA New Zealand) 72 67 71 70, Charlie Smail (Walton) 71 66 71 72
281 Tyler Wood (Ngahinepouri) 69 71 70 71, Minsoo Ko (PGA New Zealand) 69 67 73 72
282 Matthew McLean (Harewood) 65 72 70 75
283 Sam Yoshifuji (Gulf Harbour Country Club) 72 68 73 70, Kit Bittle (Wainui) 69 71 71 72
286 Daniel Graham (PGA New Zealand) 71 71 76 68
288 Nick Coxon (Riverside) 71 70 72 75
290 Matthew Morris (St. Andrews of Hamilton (Hamilton)) 70 70 78 72
291 James Perkinson (P, Australia) 71 71 73 76
* Gareth Paddison won in a playoff that went to four extra holes.
Women
282 Hanee Song (P) 74 66 72 70
286 Alanna Campbell (Omanu) 71 71 73 71, Carmen Lim (Windross Farm Golf Course) 73 73 67 73
288 Chantelle Cassidy (Riverside) 74 71 72 71
289 Jenna Hunter (P) 74 71 73 71
290 Miree Jung (Titirangi) 73 76 71 70, Rose Zheng (Pakuranga) 73 72 72 73
291 Siyi Keh (Pakuranga) 73 72 74 72
294 Caryn Khoo (Pakuranga) 74 69 78 73
301 Subin Wui (Pupuke) 70 74 76 81 310 Fiona Xu (Pakuranga) 74 76 78 82