Australian Open – Final Leaderboard
-15 R Neergaard-Petersen (The); -14 C. Smith (Australia); -13 From SW (Colt); –12 M. Hollick (SA); -11 Scott (Australia)
Others selected: -7 McIlroy (ni); -6 D Young (Scotland); -5 J Senior (English); -3 C Adam (Scotland); E Law D (Scotland)
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Rasmus Niergaard-Petersen held his nerve on the final hole to win the Australian Open and claim his first DP World Tour title.
Dane Neergaard-Petersen, heading into the final round alongside former British champion Cameron Smith, sank the difficult ups and downs for par, while the Australian three-putted for bogey.
Neergaard Petersen, 26, shot a 1-under 70 at Royal Melbourne to finish at 15 under.
“It looks calm from the outside, but inside it was a storm all day long,” Niergaard-Petersen said.
“I was really speechless. It was a battle all day long.”
South Korea’s Kim Si-woo finished third at 13 under par, while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy finished eight strokes behind.
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Neergaard-Petersen, who held a two-shot lead overnight, fell back to a share of the lead with Smith after bogeying two of the first nine holes.
They exchanged the lead on the back nine, and both made birdies on the 17th to seal the final hole finish.
McIlroy urges rethinking of tournament
McIlroy, who is ranked second in the world, called on organizers to reschedule the tournament to attract a stronger field next year.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler chose to play at the Hero World Challenge in New York instead.
“I’d love to have more players come and play, but it’s difficult,” McIlroy said.
“We have three tournaments on this week’s schedule.
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“Setting a schedule requires conversations with people far more important than me.”
The Australian Open marked the end of McIlroy’s season, giving him a long-awaited Masters title, a seventh success in the Race to Dubai and a successful Ryder Cup defense for Europe.
“I’m excited to have a little bit of downtime and finally be able to reflect on everything and go back and watch some tournaments. I haven’t really allowed myself to do that,” he said.
“Look forward to the Christmas holidays, have a few glasses of wine, and reflect on what an incredible year it has been.”
