Thomson finished the tournament on 3-under par after rounds of 69, 68 and 70, while O’Callaghan capped a dominant week with rounds of 76, 76 and 74 to finish at 10-over and win by six shots.
Thomson’s win was anything but straightforward. Standing on the 18th tee, one shot behind Horizon’s Steven Slappendel, it looked as though the title would slip away. That was until Slappendel’s tournament unravelled with a wayward tee shot and subsequent double-bogey, leaving Thomson to seal the deal with par.
“It was an interesting win. It was pretty close all day until the last three holes,” Thomson said.
“I was actually one behind playing the last, so I wasn’t in the best position, and then it was mayhem on the last.”
Cool under pressure, Thomson converted the up and down he needed.
“I had to make it up-and-down, which is something I’ve been doing for three rounds. It comes down to a simple up-and-down, makes it in the end. A little bit shocked, I guess.”
By his side throughout was caddy and father Steve Thomson, making the win all the more special.
“He kept me steady and kept an eye on the scores. It’s good to have someone keeping track because with three blokes, there are lots of ups and downs. We knew where we stood on the last, one behind; we knew what we had to do. He was a big help.”
Slappendel finished runner-up on 2-under, with Charlestown’s Timothy Meek in third at even par.
In the women’s championship, O’Callaghan entered the final round with a five-shot cushion and never let it slip, playing controlled, patient golf from start to finish.
“It was a lot of boring golf, on the green, two putts. It was nice to be out there,” she said.
The key to her week, she reflected, was keeping the ball in play off the tee.
“I drove the ball really well. This being a tighter course, the course management off the tee really helped me set up those shots into the green,” O’Callaghan added.
“I hit a lot of greens in regulation and didn’t hit many bunkers, which was great.”
Despite her lead, O’Callaghan said she never took the result for granted.
“I knew she (Su Ah Kim) would come hard at me at some point. So I just went out, played steady, thought about where I was hitting it off the tee and didn’t get ahead of myself. I think that was the big thing today, stayed in each shot, one at a time.
“The final two holes, I could kind of breathe a sigh of relief and just take it in. Sometimes that gets overlooked a little bit. When you don’t win too many things, that feeling of ‘I think I’ve got it’ and walking up that last hole and making a good par with everybody celebrating, that’s what it’s all about.”