Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen held his nerve to capture a maiden DP World Tour title at the Crown Australian Open, edging out home favorite and major champion Cameron Smith.
The Dane started the final round with a two-shot advantage but his lead was cut thanks to a bogey at the 4th and two more dropped shots followed around the turn as Smith moved ahead. Despite the early setback, Neergaard-Petersen kept a level head and sunk a long-range birdie at the 12th when Smith bogeyed. His lead was restored when he rolled in another birdie at the 13th. He just managed to make par from under a tree at the 14th, but Smith met him at the summit of the leaderboard once more after he birdied the same hole. The pair picked up shots at the 17th and remained neck-and-neck as they made their way down the deciding par-four 18th.
Neergaard-Petersen missed the green, but sunk a difficult up-and-down for par, holing a 10-foot putt to card a final-round 70 and conclude on 15 under. Smith failed to better or match him as he bogeyed the last to fall back to 14 under which sealed the Dane a maiden victory on the DP World Tour.
“I’m really at a loss for words,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s been a battle all day. From the outside, sometimes you can look calm but there was a storm inside all day today. I managed to just keep battling and then to get it up and down from there to make that putt on the last.”
With his victory, Neergaard-Petersen has secured himself a spot at next year’s Masters. Speaking on the triumph, he added: “It means the world. The Masters is the event I’ve grown up watching so many times, just dreaming of playing it. Getting to do that is awesome. It’s gone by so fast. I don’t feel like it’s been two and a half years since I’ve been out of college. I haven’t even been a pro for that long.
“To get the win here at my final event of the year was the only thing missing from a perfect year. I’m so happy.”
South Korea’s Si Woo Kim took third on 13 under. South Africa’s Michael Hollick ended in fourth on 12 under, and another Australian Adam Scott rounded off the top 5 on 11 under. Some shots adrift, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy settled for a share of 14th place on 7 under, in what was his first Australian Open appearance since 2015. The Northern Irishman spoke after his final round, calling for an improved schedule to draw more of the game’s top players.
“I obviously would love to have a few more players come down and play, but it’s hard with three tournaments going on in the schedule this week,” McIlroy said, referencing Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge and the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Challenge.
“There need to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules, and hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down.”
What is the next event?
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the Alfred Dunhill Championship taking place between 11-14 December at Royal Johannesburg Club, Johannesburg, South Africa.