Daniel Augustus rebounded from first-round horrors to lift the Fecchio Cup at Belmont Hills on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old prevailed in the three-day junior tournament despite having trouble towards the end of each round.

Competing in the 15 and over division, the winner's scores of 86, 75 and 71 on the par-70 course saw him into the clubhouse with a total of 232 - eight shots ahead of runner-up Andrew Osborne. Third-placed Justin Madeiros finished a further four shots adrift.

“On the first day I had a good front nine and the back nine was just tough conditions. It was playing so difficult and all of a sudden I just lost my game so that made it even worse,” said Augustus.

“On the second day, I had a solid round but I made a seven on the last hole which was a triple bogey.”

“On the last day, I had a good round also but I did the same thing at the end. I finished with two bogeys,” added Augustus who attends the International Junior Golf Academy in South Carolina.

Asked why he had problems in the final stages of every round, he surmised it was “probably because of the swing changes I'm making”.

“Under pressure I would tend to go back to my old habits and that would cause a bad shot. I think that was the problem,” he noted.

Augustus, who was third after the first round and second after two days, made up substantial ground as he was eight shots off the pace in the first round but then only a stroke off day-two leader Nick Jones going into the final 18 holes.

“I felt pretty confident going into the competition. Like I said, I had a tough first day which kind of put my hopes down but I didn't give up.

“I'm pleased with my results but I'm not pleased with my first round or how I finished each day.

“I kept telling myself ‘Don't give up. Tiger (Woods) has come back from eight (shots off the leader), why can't you?'.”

The talented teen has played in the Fecchio Cup's top division for the last three years, placing second last year. He also won the 13-14 age group a few years back.

Augustus hopes to be recruited by a Division One college and compete on the collegiate circuit for four years before turning pro.