Hazell made up five shots on the back nine to draw level with Harrison at the conclusion of the final round, prompting a playoff to decide the winner.

After finishing at level pegging once again on the first playoff hole, Hazell finally clinched the trophy on the second.

The experienced competitor said he was thrilled to win the title after years of near misses.

“I’m absolutely over the moon,” Hazell said.

“I’ve been in contention for a few years now, but never quite got there because I’d always have a bad round here or there which came back to bite me.”

Hazell said his 55 metre birdie on the 14th hole of the final round served as a turning point, putting a spring back in his step heading into the final four holes.

“A shot like that always gives you a bit of a boost and helps put a bit of pressure on your main competitor, especially after missing a few putts,” he said.

“It was good to get that shot but mainly I just wanted to make pars and hope that eventually Kyle would fall away a little bit.”

Adding to the twists and turns of a tumultuous day on the green was Hazell not realising he’d finished square with Harrison after 72 holes, saying he prefered to block the scores out of mind and simply focus on the task at hand.

Meanwhile, Harrison said he would not be losing any sleep after coming extremely close to taking out the championships in just his second year of playing competitive golf.

“I’m not too upset, I feel I achieved quite a lot having only been playing for two years,” he said.

“I was happy to be able to match Mick for all four rounds, I feel I can take a fair bit away from this.”

Soccer was Harrison’s first love and the newcomer said he was still working on his mental approach to the game.

“With soccer I can be nervous and still play well and score goals, but when it’s golf I only have to be slightly nervous or make the tiniest mistake to throw myself off,” he said.

“It’s also hard when you have a very solid golfer breathing right down your neck for 72 holes.

“It was pretty crazy when I was leading somehow and I held him off for a while, but he got me eventually.

“I just want to get some more experience and build from there.”

Harrison, who played off four, had entered the final two rounds with one shot lead over Hazell.