Gates survived a late run of bogeys to claim the title at The Hills near Queenstown by one shot after finishing the day at two over par and the tournament at 14-under-par, one shot ahead of Queenslander Andrew Dodt, with American Jamie Lovemark third on 12 under and Aussies Michael Curtain (11 under) and Mark Hensby (10 under) fourth and fifth respectively.

Gates, a six foot six rookie playing in his first ever Nationwide Tour event, led the tournament from the first round and after coasting to a six shot lead by the eighth hole today looked to be cruising to victory. However some wayward shots combined with two early birdies after the turn from his closest rival and playing partner Australian Andrew Dodt saw the pair equal at 14 under with just two holes to play.

The 24-year-old Gates had held a two-shot lead going into the 16th hole but hit his tee shot into the hazard, forcing him to take a drop that resulted in a double bogey and allowed Dodt to join him in a share of the lead.

Both players then sent their tee-shots on the 17th into the sand, with Dodt having to settle for a double bogey, dropping him back to 12-under to be tied with American Jamie Lovemark in second place.

The pressure was on Gates to sink a difficult par-putt in the strong wind and true to the form he has shown for the first three rounds he re-grouped to stay at 14-under and retain a two-shot advantage moving into the final hole.

An up-and-down on the 18th was enough to hand Gates the win to end the tournament on a score of 274 with Dodt nailing a birdie on the 18th to claim outright second place at 13-under and the hefty $USD61,000 cheque that comes with it.

The win handed Gates $USD108,000 of the $USD600,000 prize purse, a three-year exemption onto the Australasian Tour through 2012 and a two-year exemption on the Nationwide Tour through 2011.

``It was tough conditions and the wind made it a great challenge. Andrew started to make putts when he needed to and it tightened up quick but in the end I was happy how it ended up.’’
 
``The trophy is nice and the cheque helps, but just knowing this week that I was able to play against some of the greatest golfers in the world and I was the best gives me encouragement that I’m doing things right,” said Gates.
 
Dodt was gracious in defeat, saying he had met Gates for the first time on Saturday. ``He’s a great guy and I’m happy for him – I wish him all the best.’’
 
Dodt said he never gave up even when trailing by six shots, but added that he ``missed heaps of putts.’’
 
``If someone said I’d be second at the end of the week I’d be pretty happy with that.”
 
Third placed Lovemark who had only arrived from the US on Wednesday was the best performer of the round, hitting a four-under 68 on the final day to claim outright third.

Curtain, winner of the 2009 WA Open shot a roller coaster final round of even par that included four bogeys and two birdies with the highlight, an eagle on the par five 17th to claim fourth place on 11 under.

Just one shot behind him in fifth place was fellow Victorian Mark Hensby. Hensby, returning from injury and a tough two years in the US, shot a final round one under 71 to close out fifth spot and start the year on a positive note.

Josh Geary was New Zealand's best performer for the second year running and was pushing for another top-placing at one stage to reach 10-under-par through his first 16 holes. However a wayward drive on the 17th kicked off what was the most disappointing hole of his tournament to hit a triple bogey on the par five and he had to settle for a share of ninth at seven under par.

West Australian Matt Jager, the only one of four amateurs in the field to make the cut played an impressive tournament. After rounds of 68, 73, 70 & 73 Jager finished on four under par and in a tie for 23rd place.

The Australasian Tour heads to Moonah Links on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula for the third staging of the Nationwide Tour co-sanctioned Moonah Classic this week February 4-7 with most of this week’s field heading across the Tasman to compete.

Final leading scores at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open played at the par 72, 6610 Metres The Hills Golf Club course (a- denotes amateur):
274: Robert Gates (USA) 65 67 68 74.
275: Andrew Dodt (AUS) 65 68 70 72.
276: Jamie Lovemark (USA) 70 69 69 68.
277: Michael Curtain (AUS) 69 68 68 72.
278: Mark Hensby (AUS) 71 70 66 71.
279: Casey Wittenberg (USA) 72 69 70 68.
280: Kevin Kisner (USA) 69 69 72 70, Martin Piller (USA) 71 66 72 71.
281: Jim Carter (USA) 72 70 71 68, Scott Dunlap (USA) 70 70 72 69, James Hahn (KOR) 75 66 71 69, Gavin Coles (AUS) 72 70 70 69, Josh Geary (NZL) 69 69 73 70, Andrew Buckle (AUS) 67 72 72 70, Kevin Chappell (USA) 70 66 71 74.
282: Won Joon Lee (AUS) 68 74 70 70, Barrett Jarosch (CAN) 69 69 71 73, Phil Tataurangi (NZL) 69 68 71 74.
283: Jeff Gallagher (USA) 69 69 74 71, Bradley Iles (NZL) 71 67 72 73, Brendan Steele (USA) 72 70 68 73, Tag Ridings (USA) 69 70 69 75.
284: Mark Anderson (USA) 74 68 70 72, Matt Jager (a, AUS) 68 73 70 73, Scott Gardiner (AUS) 70 67 73 74, Rob Oppenheim (USA) 72 68 70 74, D.J. Brigman (USA) 66 69 74 75.