Two Launceston golfers lived every club player's wildest dreams when they conquered the Avani two-ball competition in Thailand.
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Terry Clark and Darren Knight partnered up for the competition as the pair traded the Mowbray Golf Club greens for the fairways of Chee Chan Golf Resort and Siam Country Club.
The event marked the return of the tournament which had been on hiatus for the past three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The duo followed in some famous footsteps after The Siam Country Club's Pattaya Old Course hosted the LPGA Thailand earlier this year. The tournament had a roll-call of golfing talent including Australia's Minjin Lee (world number two) and Hannah Green as well as world number nine Jennifer Kupcho.
The pair enjoyed their brush with the pro-tour lifestyle.
"It gives you an opportunity to play these courses that you might not get on otherwise and if you did it'd cost you a fortune so they're not easy to get on," Knight said.
"Being golfers we love playing on great golf courses and the competition, we were playing guys from seven or eight countries and we got to meet a lot of people from other parts of the world.
"And you're treated like a king, when you get to the golf course, all the caddies are lined-up and it's set-up really well so for the club golfer it's the ultimate experience."
After an average opening day, the pair's performance in the two-ball ambrose lay the foundations that saw them roar back into contention for the tournament and triumph overall.
They continued their good form until the tournament's close where they were revelled in the success of claiming the teams event during the final day on the tricky courses.
Beyond the action on the course, the pair found camaraderie as they mixed it with club golfers from across the world including America, England and South Africa.
For the Mowbray golfers, the cultural melting pot of competitors was almost better than the on course action.
"For me it was about the camaraderie and the golf courses, they were mint golf courses," Clark said.
"When Darren told me [about the tournament] I jumped at it because they were four of the best courses in Thailand.
"I think the formats really helped us because if I had a bad day or Darren had a bad day, the other one played well, I had a bad day on the first day but Darren played super and then after that we both played really well.
Knight is planning to play the Vietnam Masters in September and the pair will reunite to defend their Avani two-ball title in April.
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