The 26-year-old produced a one-under-par total of 139 to win the 36-hole event at the Eastern Hills Country Club in Garland.

She held her nerve in the final holes to beat American Adrienne McDonald by a single shot, making a downhill six-foot slider putt for par on the final hole.

"I've been playing golf since I was eight years old," Jarochowicz said. "I have always dreamed of winning a professional tournament and draping the Australian flag, which I'm so proud of, over my shoulders to pose for a photo with my trophy, and I did it."

The struggle of the past five years had taken its toll on Jarochowicz, the 2003 Illawarra Mercury Sport Star of the year.

She had lost her passion for the sport after finding she couldn't handle the pressure of playing for big dollars.

"This is a huge confidence booster for me, but it also reinforced the fact that when I simply focus on enjoyment, good things happen," she said.

"I didn't try to win the golf tournament, all I did was go out there with an open mind, knowing that whatever the outcome, I would accept it.

"As long as I had enjoyed myself I would be a winner (and as it) turned out, I was to be a winner in both respects."

Playing in the final group of the day, Jarochowicz birdied three of her first five holes to get to four under, but bogeys on the ninth, 11th and 15th holes brought her back to the field.

She didn't look at the leaderboard until she got to the 18th green, where she hit her approach to 20 feet. It was only then Jarochowicz realised she had two putts to win.

She left the first putt short but made the testing decider.