mid-60s to put him close to the lead. On Sunday, Ted Ball applied "pressure" to Cahill with a "brilliant" final round of 64. However, Cahill "rose to the occasion splendidly" with a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole to get into a playoff with Ball and John Clifford. On the first playoff hole, all had mid-length putts for birdie. Cahill, putting first, had his birdie putt "hit the cup and kick away." Ball also barely missed his birdie attempt. However, Clifford hit his "putt straight and true" for the win. Despite the loss, Cahill had a positive appraisal of his game. He later referred to 1978 as his best season. He told The Age, referring to the year, "I was on top of the world and couldn't do a thing wrong." Despite this success, Cahill spent the next two years "in the golfing wilderness." His "return to mediocrity" began in early 1979. Cahill later stated he was typically a "bad first round player" was unable to record many good starts during this era. In March 1979, he played the Australian Masters. Cahill opened with a 78 to put himself well back right away. In July, he played in the 1979 Open Championship. He earned an exemption from qualifying due to his high finish from he previous year. However, he missed the cut. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Australia. In September, Cahill played the Joe Jansen New South Wales PGA Championship. At the pro-am, Cahill shot a 69, tying for the win with Stewart Ginn. However, at the event proper Cahill opened with an over-par round and could not recover. He finished nineteen shots behind champion Ginn, outside the top 25. Two weeks later, he missed the cut at the West Lakes Classic. In November, he played the Australian PGA Championship, the tournament he won two years ago. At the pro-am Cahill finished in tie for third place. However, at the tournament proper, he opened with a 78 to put him out of contention early. The following week he played the Dunhill Australian Open. Cahill opened with a 77 to start well back. Around this time, Cahill said he had "putting problems" which impeded his play. Early the following year, in February 1980, Cahill played the Tasmanian Open. He thought he had his problems worked out. In the second round, Cahill shot a five-under-par 67 to tie Stewart Ginn and