Rounds of 71, 72, 70 and 73 at Ballarat Golf Club propelled him to a -2 finish and a $9900 cheque, as well as an exemption into next year’s Australian PGA Championship.

Alexander Pitty finished second on +3, while Sean Roach and Simon Hawkes tied for third at +7.

Cooper, 22, led by just two shots over Pitty late in Friday’s round after double bogeying the 15th as the latter chipped in for birdie, sparking a three-shot turnaround.

The Manly Golf Club product rallied in the final three holes, parring the 16th and 17th before dropping a 70 footer for birdie on the last for the most memorable win of his young career.

“(The putt) was a great moment and I’ll always remember it,” Cooper said.

“I’ve had a few wins before, but that’s the biggest purse and probably the most important.

“I won at Rich River (Trainee Classic, in February) and it played a bit like this course – it was tough, everybody sort of fell away and I hung in there.

“That experience, knowing what I needed to do to be able to hang in there, prevailed in the end.”

Cooper said he plans get married and undertake an intense six-month training program next year before returning to the Australian summer season of golf, where he will contest the PGA Championship.

Following that, he will move to the American Tour School in 2016 to pursue his life-long dream of playing on the US Tour.

Difficult winds over the first two rounds at Ballarat saw most of the field fall out of contention.

Pre-tournament favourite Deyen Lawson became the first and only player to shoot a round in the 60s, with a 68 on Friday, while Elissa-Jayne Orr pipped Carly Beck by just one-shot for the title of top female trainee.

Ballarat trainee Andrew Cartledge finished tied-32 at +20, with New South Wales taking home the PGA Interstate Cup

Ballarat GC manager Michael Phillips described the tournament as a success in its maiden appearance at Ballarat, and said club representatives would undertake discussions with the PGA of Australia about locking the title away for the next three years.

“It will definitely be a talk for three years,” he said.

“From the players’ point of view, it’s been really, really positive.”

Meanwhile, Ballarat’s head professional Dave Wallis said the week exaggerated Ballarat’s reputation as championship layout capable of testing at the elite level.