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 successful 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 match 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 rather a lot,” Niemann stated.
“This season wasn’t the perfect for me. I wished to play extra golf. It was large to return up right here and play good golf and get a consequence.”
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 below regardless of capturing a three-over-par 75.
Ashleigh Buhai kisses the trophy after successful 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 below 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 quick in his bid to go back-to-back after a 71 and needed to accept third place on 12 below.
Spectacular in a single day storms cleared to make manner for a brilliant, sunny morning at The Australian Golf Membership however the wind had already began constructing and it elevated in pace 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 had been anticipated to reprise their duel, however Adam Scott and Lucas Herbert made early expenses to share the lead.
Former Masters champion Scott edged forward of the main pack together with his eighth birdie at his fifteenth gap however calamity struck on the subsequent when his tee shot landed in an unplayable lie laborious up towards 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, prime of the leaderboard on 13 below.
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 had been in a position to shut the hole even after the South African dropped three pictures on the again 9.
Minjee Lee, seven strokes again in 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 Sequence.
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’s going to mark a twenty fourth consecutive look and provides him one other likelihood to go one higher than 2012 at Royal Lytham and St Annes when he threw away a four-shot lead getting in to the ultimate spherical and completed second to Ernie Els.
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