From the get go, the top scores in division one were neck-and-neck with Mark Hale taking the advantage heading into day two with a one stroke lead ahead of Andrew Best.

While the pressure was on, Andrew hung tight to get the Best of Hale (144) by finishing up with a combined score of 143.

"Mark Hale was the first one in on Sunday with a combined score of 144 which made for an exciting finish with Andrew Best needing to par the last to retain a one shot lead to take out the Mudgee Open," club captain, Ben Newsome said.

"Everyone knew what needed to be done on the 18th and in front of a decent crowd, Andrew holed a good five-foot putt.

"It was always going to be a close event. Both players are pretty evenly matched and have fought out many titles over the years.

"Mark is humble in both victory and loss, he's a great competitor. He was the first to congratulate Andrew."

The competition's history reflects high numbers of entries from metro players, but in what has been described as the most "unique" Open to date, no competitors from outside of the area were permitted to play due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"Three quarters of the field would typically be from Sydney or Metro and they use it as a platform for a great long weekend in Mudgee," Newsome said.

"People have been coming to the Open for 30 years so to not have those familiar faces, it was quite unique."

The 2021 Mudgee Men's Opens results are as follows:

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