In one of the most exciting finishes in the tournament’s history, Pearce set the final group a number to chase as he closed in style.

Playing alongside Australia’s Edward Stedman, Pearce managed to par the last while Stedman bogeyed the 18^th to finish one shot back in an eventual four-way tie for second.

The final group included Jason King, R.J Caracella and overnight leader Andrew Evans.

Both Caracella and King birdied the difficult par-three 17^th hole to reach 13-under with one hole to play.

Evans recovered after a three-putt-bogey on his opening hole to stay within reach of his playing partners and teeing off on the final hole, Evans was at 12-under, needing a birdie to force a playoff at best.

Both Caracella and King pulled their tee-shots left on the final hole which had played as the most difficult hole all week.

King was forced to lay up and attempt to salvage a par, his approach came up short, leaving himself a 30-ft-putt for par and to stay at 13-under.

Caracella played a stunning second shot from 200 metres into the final green and left himself 40-ft away, putting for an unlikely birdie and the victory.

Evans had driven his tee shot into the ideal position and was left with a nine-iron into the final green, from where he left himself a 12-ft birdie putt to join group at 13-under and what was looking like a playoff.

King missed his par-putt to fall to 12-under and was left to watch on.

Caracella ran his birdie putt six-feet past, leaving himself a testing downhill putt for par to stay at 13-under.

Evans was next, and for a moment, his birdie putt appeared in, until breaking gently to the right, leaving a tap in putt for par to finish at 12-under alongside King and Stedman.

With a crowd of hundreds looking on, Caracella surveyed what he hoped to be the final putt, however when his ball ran by the cup, and a sigh of the gallery, Pearce at that moment experienced his first 72-hole victory.

"I really was just trying to stay in touch with Ed (Stedman) out there all day" said Pearce.

"He was playing great and when I made a great putt to save par on the last, and Ed made a bogey, I had a feeling I would be around the mark.

"The guys all had a really great shot on the last to beat me and I guess it just all worked out in my favour.

"It feels great to get this win and I’m excited for next week in New Caledonia" added Pearce.

The 26-yr-old has enjoyed a consistent year which has included top-10’s at the Tahiti International and the SIFA Samoa Open.

"I hope to play well in the big tour events coming up and I feel my game is heading in the right direction" says Pearce.

Pre tournament favourite and three time past champion, Brad McIntosh couldn’t quite recapture his winning vibe in Vanuatu, posting a one-under-par 71 on the final day to finish in outright seventh place, three strokes behind Pearce.

Another of the beloved Australian professionals in Vanuatu is South Australian Jason Norris who on the final day, along with charging up the leader board, was celebrating a birthday.

Norris managed several birdies on the front nine, but bogies late in the round proved costly, ultimately leaving Norris in outright 6th place.

The DIGICEL Vanuatu Open is part of the NSW/ACT Order of Merit season and is a feature event on the 2014 Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series.

Tournament Director and Chairman of the Vanuatu Golf Open Mr Bryan Death was delighted with this year’s edition of the event and is excited to see the growth of the event in the future.

"The VGO is thrilled with this year’s event and what a great finish it was.

"We congratulate Daniel and all the players on their efforts this week and look forward to seeing them return in the future" added Mr Death.

The next event on the NSW/ACT Order of Merit circuit is the Coca-Cola Shelly Beach Pro-Am on Friday 19^th September.