A stunning eagle on the second play-off hole won Chile’s Joaquin Niemann the ISPS HANDA Australian Open on a dramatic final day of lead changes, birdie runs and nerveless shotmaking in Sydney.
Six players in all were in the lead or a share of it during a rollercoaster day when a fine golf course, excellent greens, tricky breezes and pressure combined to create an engrossing climax.
In the end, Niemann outduelled Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino on the second extra hole at The Australian Golf Club. Hoshino boldly made birdie on both occasions with fine putts after visiting bunkers twice on each trip down the par five 18th.
Niemann (66-69-70-66) missed a 1.5m eagle putt on the first play-off hole. On the second extra hole, he ripped another perfect nine iron downwind and holed from nearly 2m to clinch the title in style.
The first South American to win the Australian Open adds further history to the Stonehaven Cup which carries the names of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Rory McIlroy amongst a long list of golfing greats.
“It feels pretty good seeing those names on the trophy,” Niemann said with the Stonehaven Cup in front of him.
“It means a lot. I’ve wanted to win for so long (since his PGA Tour success in February, 2022). I started to work harder and it’s nice to see this result.”
A winning bonus is locking in a spot at the 2024 Open at Royal Troon, a goal of his trip because his status as a LIV Golf player gives him no easy entry.
“To play the Open is nice because I know have the game to win one of the majors,” he said.
The 25-year-old Chilean was four shots off the pace at the start of Sunday’s final round but a fine five-under 66 was his surge to the top of the leaderboard. Hoshino (68-68-65-70) started the day tied for the lead and was even par for his round until a long birdie putt on the 71st hole took him to the joint lead at 14-under-par.
Australians Adam Scott and Lucas Herbert surged into the mid-afternoon lead before tripping with triple bogeys. England’s Alex Fitzpatrick hovered for a while and third-placed Min Woo Lee found only one birdie all day as too many putts slipped wide.
A single birdie from Niemann on his opening nine holes gave little hint he would catch fire on the final nine holes of the tournament. He produced five birdies in that homeward stretch, including a brilliant one on the par five closing hole. He hit his drive well right, plotted a line to the hole over the hospitality marquee stretched alongside the lake guarding the green and let fly.
He found the green and a two-putt birdie had him signing for his 66. He birdied the 18th three times in regulation play and another time in the play-off before the eagle on a hole he dominated all week.
Hoshino has proved his class with second placings at both the Australian PGA and ISPS HANDA Australian Open to get his DP World Tour season off to a strong start.
“It was my first play-off on the DP World Tour and it’s just a great experience. It was a tough day with the wind and I really wanted to get the birdie on 18 in regulation play,” Hoshino said.
One major bonus was earning a start in the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon with his top three finish.
Lee couldn’t get things going from his opening drive which found the trees to the left and dropped fortuitously into the big gallery lining the first fairway.
It wasn’t until the par five 14th that Lee found some momentum with a two-putt birdie. An audacious, high-hooking iron from the trees on the 16th gave him another birdie look which sent the Australian crowd into a frenzy.
He missed and did so again on the 17th to see his chance slip away.
“I didn’t hit it good enough and putts didn’t go my way. I scrambled really well so there are positives out of that,” Lee said.
A win at the Australian PGA, third in his national Open and a stunning string of shots generated an amazing connection with the big galleries at both tournaments.
“It’s amazing. I can’t thank everyone enough.”
The drama of the final round started early with every birdie putt that 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott rolled into the cup.
He had started the final day five shots off the lead. By his 12th hole, he was joint leader with the final group seemingly stalled.
Scott had started on the 10th and had racked up five birdies on his opening nine holes to go with two bogeys.
The 2009 Australian Open champion knew he was getting into the mix. He rolled in another and when one more curled in from the edge of the green on his 13th hole of the day, he was co-leader with Lucas Herbert.
Scott was the solo leader when he rolled in his best putt of the day from more than 12m on his 15th hole. A fist pump was followed by a shout of “Come on…let’s go” to the cheering crowd.
Golf can be brutal. In an instant, an errant tee shot through the trees and out of bounds on the next forced him to play a second ball. A disasterous triple bogey flattened a stellar run into a three-under 68 and 11-under.
“What did I have, about a five per cent chance teeing off today? So it’s hard to really be upset with myself. It was looking good there for a minute,” Scott said.
Herbert too was undone by a triple bogey with trees, sand a three-putt derailing his bid in a closing 72 for seventh.
