And in the Morisset Pro-Am on Saturday, the Dunheved Golf Club assistant professional looked to be falling into the same trap again when he three-putted the first hole for a bogey.

But instead of losing confidence in his short game, Paddison found his range.

The 30-year-old carded four birdies for a first-round score of three-under 69 to take the lead and backed it up with two-under 70 to achieve the biggest win of his career.

"My putting is normally my weakness, but I putted great for the two days, and normally when you putt well you usually play well," Paddison said.

"Because the greens were so quick and I three-putted the first, it was like, 'Here we go', but then I holed a couple of good ones after that and it put my confidence up."

Paddison's only other pro-am victory was at last year's one-day Gold Creek Country Club event in the ACT.

Paddison has had a stop-start career since beginning his traineeship in 2001.

After he completed the traineeship he left the fairways and greens behind for five years as he backpacked around Europe and Asia.

The highlight for the mad Everton fan was attending the 2006 soccer World Cup in Germany.

Paddison only returned to full-time golf three years ago and is hoping Morisset can be a turning point.

"It would be my biggest win. It's really good to win those two-dayers because there was a really good field," he said.

"It's definitely given me some confidence, and hopefully I can take it into the second part of the year and get some more wins up.

"I want to go a bit better in the four-round events, I have not gone too well in those.

"They're the ones everyone wants to do well in."

Belmont's Corey Hale finished equal second alongside Edward Stedman, who lives at The Vintage, and Tamworth's Simon Furneaux, two shots behind Paddison on 141.

Hale finished day one with par 72, and a scorching back nine in round two left him seven under.

But a double-bogey and two bogeys on the front nine, which he played last, cut his round to three-under 69.

"I made a bad swing on the sixth and on the ninth, my last hole, I hit a good shot and spun it off the green and made bogey there," Hale said.

"It was quite exciting and the round was going along nicely, but that's golf."

Newcastle favourite Leigh McKechnie finished 10th with 75 and 70 for a one-over 145.