Chile’s Joaquin Niemann shot five-under-par last spherical in Sydney to take Rikuya Hoshino to a play-off, which he then gained with an eagle on the second play-off gap on the 18th; South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai retained the ladies’s Australian Open title
Final Up to date: 03/12/23 9:29am
Joaquin Niemann was a cheerful man after profitable the Australian Open
LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann claimed his first DP World Tour title on the Australian Open after eagling the second play-off gap to beat Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino.
Chilean Niemann, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, lipped out with a four-foot eagle putt on the primary re-run of the 18th, however made no mistake on the second play-off gap, draining a barely longer eagle try so as to add a primary DP World Tour event win to the 2 he has gained on the PGA Tour.
The Australian Open is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and the DP World Tour.
“It means a lot,” Niemann mentioned.
“This season wasn’t the best for me. I wanted to play more golf. It was huge to come up here and play good golf and get a result.”
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai retained the title within the girls’s Australian Open, being performed in parallel on the identical course, by holding off Australia’s Minjee Lee to win by a single stroke on 9 beneath regardless of taking pictures a three-over-par 75.
Ashleigh Buhai kisses the trophy after profitable the ladies’s Australian Open
Earlier in a wild last spherical, Niemann had shot a five-under-par 66 to take the clubhouse lead with Hoshino becoming a member of him on 14 beneath when he accomplished a spherical of 70 some 90 minutes later.
Min Woo Lee, who beat Hoshino in a Sunday duel to win the Australian PGA Championship final week, got here up brief in his bid to go back-to-back after a 71 and needed to accept third place on 12 beneath.
Spectacular in a single day storms cleared to make method for a vibrant, sunny morning at The Australian Golf Membership however the wind had already began constructing and it elevated in velocity till it wreaked havoc with the native contenders.
Min Woo Lee, youthful brother of Minjee, and Hoshino shared the in a single day lead and have been anticipated to reprise their duel, however Adam Scott and Lucas Herbert made early fees to share the lead.
Former Masters champion Scott edged forward of the main pack along with his eighth birdie at his fifteenth gap however calamity struck on the subsequent when his tee shot landed in an unplayable lie arduous up in opposition to a fence and he took a triple-bogey.
Herbert additionally had a triple-bogey on the eighth to tumble out of rivalry, leaving Niemann and Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick, brother of 2022 US Open champion Matt, high of the leaderboard on 13 beneath.
Niemann had flirted with catastrophe on his first go on the 18th when his tee shot went into the gang and he needed to nip right into a marquee to get a take a look at the inexperienced earlier than firing an iron shot over the diners and strolling away with a sixth birdie.
Buhai began the day with a three-stroke lead over former world No 1 Jiyai Shin however none of her rivals have been capable of shut the hole even after the South African dropped three photographs on the again 9.
Minjee Lee, seven strokes again at the beginning of the day, obtained inside a shot after Buhai went into the water on the seventeenth however the 2022 Ladies’s British Open champion held her nerve to assert the title with a par putt on the final.
Trio safe qualification for The Open in 2024
Their respective outcomes from Sunday’s last spherical in Sydney confirmed that Niemann, Hoshino and Scott have certified for The 152nd Open at Royal Troon, which takes place on July 18-21 2024.
The Australian Open was the second occasion within the Open Qualifying Collection.
Niemann will characteristic at The Open for a fifth time, having hitherto achieved a finest end of 53rd at St Andrews in 2022, whereas Hoshino makes the sphere for the fourth consecutive occasion.
For Scott, it’ll mark a twenty fourth consecutive look and provides him one other probability to go one higher than 2012 at Royal Lytham and St Annes when he threw away a four-shot lead entering into to the ultimate spherical and completed second to Ernie Els.
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