Shin Ji-Yai has added another title to his already packed trophy cabinet after the South Korean star claimed his second Australian Open title.
The 36-year-old clinched her 65th title on Sunday, beating two-time defending champion Ash Buhai to win by two strokes.
It was a tumultuous final round for Shin at Kingston Heath as he ended hopes of an Australian winner taking the title on home soil for the first time since Karrie Webb lifted the title 10 years ago.
A double bogey on the second would give Buhai a chance to catch up, but Shin rectified the problem by holing a rather sensational chip shot on the fourth hole to pocket an eagle.
It was an impressive shot, with Shin hitting from a sandy surface to hole out from around 102 yards.
But despite entering the turn at -3, Shin made three bogeys in what was a nervy last five holes.
Shin Ji-yai played a sensational shot, holing out from 102 yards to claim victory in the Australian Open tournament.
It was a tumultuous final round for Shin as he ended hopes of an Australian winner taking the title on home soil for the first time since Karrie Webb lifted the title 10 years ago.
Despite that, his performance throughout the week was enough to hold off the advances of Buhai and a chasing group to end his day at three under par.
“I’m grateful for feeling nervous because sometimes when I play, I still miss feeling nervous,” she said.
‘That means I really want it. So I had a good feeling with the nervousness in the last few months.’
Australia’s Hannah Green had enjoyed a solid first three rounds heading into Sunday, but in her attempt to claim a much-desired trophy, Green failed and ended her day with a six-over par, making three bogeys and a triple. bogey on his front nine. .
She finished her T4 of the weekend at six under par to move alongside fellow Australian Kim Grace.
“I had such a good year that I really don’t want to think about my last round of the year being here, the Australian Open, and not being in competition or even having a trophy. But yeah, overall, I’m very happy with the way I went. I tried to fight,” Green said.
“Honestly, after she (Shin) made that hole, I felt like I was chasing second place between Ash (Buhai and herself), and obviously, she had a very good round, and that’s where I started playing even worse .
“But two really nice people to play with and a very deserving winner,” Green added.
Talented Australian star Hannah Green endured a tough final day and dropped to T4 in the standings.
Shin has won the title twice and won his first Australian Open in 2013.
Johnston surprises local favorites
The unexpected American Ryggs Johnston ruined the party with a surprising and improbable victory at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The world number 954 emerged from a deep field of local hopes to steal the Stonehaven Cup with a stolid four-under 68 in the final round at Kingston Heath on Sunday.
More famous for his name after Mel Gibson’s Lethal Weapon character than for his golf prowess, Johnston finished three strokes ahead of former amateur sensation Curtis Luck with a winning total of 18-under 269.
Remarkably, the win was the 24-year-old’s first in a four-round tournament of any kind since high school.
Known as “The Big Slick”, Johnston began the final round as equal leader with Lucas Herbert and continued the work as the Victorian sentimental favourite.
Herbert cursed the greens repeatedly during his final round of two-over 74 and eventually fell to fifth place at 12 under, six shots behind Johnston.
The 28-year-old cruelly missed out on a place in next year’s British Open by two strokes.
Instead, runner-up Luck and Herbert’s LIV Golf teammate Marc Leishman booked their tickets to Royal Portrush with coveted top-three appearances.
Ryggs Johnston (left) won the men’s Australian Open on Sunday afternoon.
The world number 954 emerged from a deep field of local hopes to steal the Stonehaven Cup with a stolid four-under 68 in the final round at Kingston Heath on Sunday.
Remarkably, the win was the 24-year-old’s first in a four-round tournament of any kind since high school.
Leishman holed a five-foot birdie putt on the penultimate hole of his final round of 69 to finish third evenly at 14 under.
Jasper Stubbs also finished at 14 under, but the world No. 1486 lost to Leishman, ranked 575, in a countback to a trip to Northern Ireland.
Unable to accumulate ranking points since defecting to the Saudi-backed rebel league, Leishman, the 2015 British Open runner-up, has not played a major since 2022.
Luck, once the world’s top-ranked amateur who lost his Korn Ferry Tour card this year in the U.S., will return to the main stage for the first time since his only appearance in 2017, when he tied for first place. 46 in the Masters.