Jason Day outlasted Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn to claim his first professional win on home soil and steer Australia to a commanding World Cup of Golf victory.
Day, who started Sunday’s final round at Royal Melbourne one shot ahead of Bjorn, was tied for the lead with the Dane with three holes to play.
But Bjorn bogeyed the par-4 16th and Day, who found a bunker on the same hole, made a clutch par save to stay on 10-under and take the outright lead.
He stood firm with pars on the closing two holes – while Bjorn bogeyed the last – to win by two shots in front of his mother Dening, who is grieving the death of her own mother and seven other relatives in Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Fellow Australian Adam Scott posted an excellent five-under-par final round 66 to finish in third spot on seven under.
The home duo’s combined 17-under total was 10 shots clear of the second-placed United States, giving Australia the World Cup for the first time since Wayne Grady and Peter Fowler claimed it in 1989.
This is the first time the tournament has also been an individual event.
Day received a $1.2 million first prize, while he and Scott shared $600,000 for winning the team competition and Scott picked up $490,000 for placing third.
The closing holes for Day were much more tense than appeared likely when he moved four shots clear of Bjorn after nine holes, helped by a spectacular eagle when he holed his approach on the par-4 sixth.
But Day double-bogeyed the par-4 10th – taking three shots just to reach the fairway, with his first two finding thick rough – and Bjorn birdied two of the next three holes to join him in the lead on nine under.
Both players birdied the par-5 15th.
But Bjorn came unstuck on the 16th, hitting his tee shot right into thick grass and trees and needing two more to find a greenside bunker, from where he did well to make bogey.
Day did well to make par, getting up and down from a separate bunker.
Earlier, Scott, who started the day seven shots behind Day, charged into contention with an eagle and two birdies on the first three holes.
He got as close as one shot from the lead with a birdie on the 16th to reach eight under, but bogeyed the last to dash his chances of a third straight win, following his Australian PGA and Masters triumphs.
