Dec 7 (Reuters) - Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen pipped former British Open champion Cam Smith to the Australian Open title on Sunday with a par at the final hole to lift the winners trophy with a 15-under par total at Royal Melbourne.
Neergaard-Petersen coolly rolled in a tricky putt at the last after his chip from the rough on the edge of the green had rolled 10 feet past the hole, but Smith missed his par attempt from five feet to confirm the 26-year-old's victory.
"I'm really at a loss for
words," said Neergaard-Petersen. "It's been a battle all day. Sometimes on the outside you can look calm, but it was a storm inside all day today.
"But I managed to keep battling and then, to get it up and down to make that putt on the last, I don't really know what to say, to be honest."
The win is Neergaard-Petersen's first on the DP World Tour, and victory earns him an exemption for the U.S. Masters next year.
The Dane held a two-shot lead over Smith going into the final round, but at the 10th hole, the Australian, who was looking for his first tournament win in more than two years, took the lead when he drained a 15-foot putt for birdie.
Neergaard-Petersen birdied the 12th and 13th to reclaim sole possession of the lead, although Smith picked up a shot at the par-5 14th to pull level once again.
The Australian slid in another putt from distance at the 17th to match the Dane's birdie and leave the pair locked together going to the 18th.
With the pressure mounting, Neergaard-Petersen pushed his approach to the last into the rough on the right of the green to open the door for Smith, whose second shot found the heart of the putting surface.
But Neergaard-Petersen's up-and-down conversion put the focus back on his opponent, and Smith's second putt narrowly missed, sealing the win for the Dane.
South Korea's Kim Si-woo finished in third on 13-under par, ahead of South Africa's Michael Hollick and former U.S. Masters champion Adam Scott, with the trio all earning exemptions for the 2026 British Open.
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by William Mallard)
