did not record many high finishes, only recording one top-25. He finished well back on the Order of Merit again, in 85th place. Around this era, he was thinking about quitting golf. He later said, "I thought of throwing the clubs away for a while and doing something else... driving a cab or anything at all to make money." However, his former supervisor at Yarra Yarra, Geoff Parslow, encouraged him to keep going. Parslow spent a week with Cahill on the practice range "ironing out the blemishes in his swing." In November 1977, Cahill played the Telecom Australian PGA Championship played at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, his home course. Cahill opened with rounds of 69 and 70 to put him one back of the lead after each round. In the third round he "played confidently," shooting a 32 on the front nine to take the solo lead. In the final round, Cahill started poorly with a bogey on the first hole. However, his primary competitors, Ferguson and Byman, self-imploded during the middle of the front nine, with several over-par holes, taking themselves out of contention. Cahill, meanwhile, steadied, shooting a par-36 for the front nine to put himself in "a comfortable position." Though Jack Newton and Graham Marsh "made brief rallies" there "was no great pressure on" Cahill. With a final round 70, Cahill finished at 278 (−10) and defeated Ferguson, the solo runner-up, by four strokes. Cahill won A$22,000 for his win, roughly $20,000 greater than his previous highest cheque as a golfer. It was "his first major professional victory." The win put him near the lead on the PGA Tour of Australia's Order of Merit. In addition, it also helped him earn membership for Australia's 1977 World Cup team. Due to the success, Trevor Grant of The Age wrote that Cahill was "the young Australian most likely to make the biggest impact on the international scene." In early 1978, Cahill had a number of high finishes across the world. In January, he recorded a top five at the Caltex Festival of Sydney Open. In February, he played the Tasmanian Open. Cahill was just a shot off the lead after three rounds. He played poorly in the final round though still finished in the top ten. In March, he played the Thailand Open. In the third round, he shot a 65 (−7) to break the course record move into