Joaquin Niemann sunk an eagle on the second play-off hole to beat Rikuya Hoshino and secure a maiden DP World Tour victory at the Australian Open in Sydney.
The 25-year-old Chilean, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, finished the tournament on 14 under with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino to force the play-off. Both birdied the first play-off hole on the 18th but Niemann drained an eagle putt on the second hole to beat Hoshino to earn his first title on the DP World Tour.
“It means a lot,” Niemann said. “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.”
This victory for Niemann means that he will take part on The 152nd Open at Royal Troon next year, making it his fifth appearance at the highly-prestigious tournament.
Australia’s Minwoo Lee finished two shots behind the leaders on 12 under while there was a three-way tie for fourth featuring Australia’s Adam Scott, England’s Laurie Canter, and Scotland’s Grant Forrest.
In the women’s tournament, South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai defended her title thanks to a one-shot victory over Australia’s Minjee Lee.
Her triumph establishes her as the first player to achieve back-to-back victories in the tournament since Yani Tseng in 2011.
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule is the Alfred Dunhill Championship taking place between 7-10 December at Leopard Creek CC in Malelane, South Africa.