Josh Geary can finally lift a trophy at Clearwater Golf Club, capturing the DVS Pegasus Open in an emphatic fashion.

Geary birdied his final three holes in the third and final round today to win by two over the in-form amateur Sam Jones and perennial Jennian Homes Charles Tour contender Dongwoo Kang.

The victory is sweet for the 37-year-old, who has finished runner-up twice at Clearwater Golf Club at the New Zealand PGA Championship in 2009 and again at the 2011 New Zealand Open.

He started the final day in a share of the lead with Jones after a pair of 68s to be eight under. The win didn’t come easy, with the lead swapping hands a handful of times over the course of the final day.

He made eight pars and a bogey to open his round over the first nine holes to be in a three-way tie for the lead with Jones and Remuera’s Robby Turnbull with nine holes to play.

He finally made his first birdie at the par 5 tenth to poke his nose in front before making a great bogey on the tough par 4 13th to fall a couple behind at the time, after Jones made a couple of birdies of his own. Geary then showed his pedigree, bouncing back with a birdie on the par 5 14th to get back within one.

With the tournament hanging in the balance, Geary tied the lead on the 16th after hitting his tee shot to a couple of feet on the long par 3. He then took sole possession of the lead with a birdie at 17 after a Jones bogey, meaning he needed to par the last to get the job done after Kang posted nine under in the group ahead.

He hit the perfect tee shot and hit the final green in regulation, meaning he had two putts for the win. The Bay of Plenty-based professional only needed one, calmly rolling in the 30-footer to capture his seventh Jennian Homes Charles Tour title.

Geary says he’s relieved to get this one across the line.

“It was a funny week, I couldn’t get anything to drop with the flat stick over the first couple of days, and I thought I had shot myself in the foot during the back nine with a couple of bogeys. Sure enough, the putts seemed to drop over the last couple of holes. It was a long wait,” Geary laughs.

“Any trophy is becoming really hard to win these days. To win again and etch my name further into some New Zealand golfing history is always great. It was just nice to finish off those final holes strong, I’ve had a couple of hiccups in the past. I was just really proud of how I played the last couple of holes; I made some great swings when I needed to and holed a couple of good putts.”

Geary has battled injury over the last couple of weeks and needed to withdraw midway through the opening round of the Carrus Tauranga Open just a couple of weeks ago, citing hip and back tightness.

He says he had no such issues this week and is thankful both his body and his golf game held up during the heat of battle.

“The body has been feeling great this week, which is a relief, especially after a couple of weeks where it’s been a bit dicey. The warmth today certainly helped.”

The victory now sets up a showdown at the Taranaki Open for the Jennian Homes Trophy, the season-long points competition.

Jones has his nose in front, sitting on 1,395 points to Geary’s 1,205.

Geary says that’s another trophy he’s keen to get his hands on but realises he’ll have a challenge on his hands going head-to-head with Jones once again, this time around a course he knows like the back of his hand.

“I didn’t realise that. It’ll be tough to beat him around a track he knows so well and the way he’s playing at the moment, but my game is in great shape too; I just need to work on the putting a bit before then.

“I’m pretty keen to get my hands on that trophy as well.”

Geary will need to win or finish 190 points ahead of Jones to steal the Jennian Homes Trophy.