Recently crowned the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner – a feat he achieved in just four starts – Travis Smyth made it two wins from his past three starts having previously won the ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship in Auckland last month.

That earned Smyth status on the Japan Golf Tour, showing an instant affinity for Japanese golf with a final round of 7-under 64 at Caledonian Golf Club to claim his second Asian Tour title by one stroke in spectacular fashion.

Trailing by one standing on the final tee, Smyth found his seventh fairway of the day and then hit his approach shot to 15 feet, calmly piloting the 15-foot left-to-right slider to move past Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Japan's Ryosuke Kinoshita and post 15-under.

“That’s what dreams are made of right there,” said Smyth about his closing putt.

“As a young kid, you know, you’re on the putting green having putting comps with your mates, you’re trying to chip in to win, you’re trying to hole 25-footers to win. And that was unbelievable.

“You know, I won a tournament two weeks ago, probably a pretty similar putt downhill, left to right – just drew upon that. But yeah, for it to go in like that, it’s the best feeling ever.

“I've had a hard time trying to win tournaments. People don't understand how hard it is to win, you know. Like it's such a mind game with yourself out there.

“In the past, like you're always trying to come up with excuses as to why you might not be leading, or why you might not be hitting the shots under pressure that you want to, but I don't know, I've been able to turn a corner.”

Smyth wasn’t the only recent winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia to feature prominently on the leaderboard with Quinovic NZ PGA champion Austen Truslow (65) outright fourth and three-time winner this past season, Cameron John (65) tied seventh.

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Travis Smyth seals unlikely Order of Merit title

A desire to play his way back onto the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia has earned New South Welshman Travis Smyth a stunning Order of Merit title and a long-awaited elevation to the DP World Tour.

The past three Order of Merit winners have each received a late exemption into the US PGA Championship, an invitation that Smyth may not require.

Ranked No.218 on the Official World Golf Ranking at the start of the week, Smyth should move past Japan’s Kota Kaneko and into third on the International Federation Ranking.

In six starts this year the 31-year-old has two wins and three further top-five finishes and is already guaranteed a spot at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in July.