The finish to the Crown Australian Open, just like the event itself, did not disappoint as the final hole oozed with drama at Royal Melbourne. 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith and soon to be PGA Tour player Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen headed to the 18th tee tied at -15, then a wild finish unfolded.
Neergaard-Petersen, looking for the largest win of his career and a spot in the 2026 Masters, hit a poor drive into the right rough. His approach shot found the fescue to the right of the green which left him with a difficult third shot to a short-sided pin over a bunker. Neergaard-Petersen hit a good shot under the circumstances and was left with a 12-foot putt for par.
Cameron Smith on the other hand found the green with his approach shot and it looked like he was in the driver’s seat for a victory and a great ending in his home country to what had been a lackluster 2025 season. Smith’s long birdie putt came up well short, setting up two dramatic par putts to decide the championship.
As Neergaad-Petersen rolled in his 12-foot par putt for a dramatic par save to stay at -15, Smith, one of the world’s best putters was faced with a putt of a little over four feet to force a playoff. As his putt missed to the left, the only one more stunned than the Australian fans was Neergaard-Petersen himself.
“It’s hard. I’m really at a loss for words. It’s been a battle all day,” Neergaard-Petersen said, who earned an invitation to the Masters with the win. “Even from the outside, you can look calm, but it was a storm inside [for me] all day. But I managed to keep battling and to get it up and down to make that putt on the last. I don’t know what to say, to be honest.”
For Neergaard-Petersen, his win at the Australian Open was a perfect way to cap off a great 2025 season. Although he did not have any wins coming into this event, he had played well enough to earn his PGA Tour card for 2026. With the win, he became the first Danish player to win the Australian Open. The winning putt he made on the eighteenth hole was stroked with confidence. A big breaker, Neergaard-Petersen confidently made a stroke and the ball fell into the hole with perfect pace. This confidence will need to carry over into 2026 as he will be on the biggest golf stage in the world – the PGA Tour.
For Smith, it was not only a return to his home country, but also to being in contention to win a golf tournament. The LIV golfer has not won anywhere since 2023 and it was the first cut he has made in his last eight non-LIV starts.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had this feeling to be honest,” he said. “I love that it’s the Australian Open. I couldn’t think of a better place to get back into form. It would shut a few people up.”
The tournaments main headline player, Rory McIlroy, had an up-and-down week Down Under at Royal Melbourne. After fighting to make the cut, McIlroy bounced back with weekend rounds 68 and 69 and finished T14 for the event.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” McIlroy said post-round. “I’ve been excited to come back down here for a while. “Obviously it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open and I guess just look the scenes out there this week, the crowds, the golf course, they were absolutely incredible.”
Another notable finish was from Australian Adam Scott. Scott, who did not have a top 10 finish on the PGA Tour this year, played solid this week at Royal Melbourne and finished T5. With that finish, he earned an invitation into the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. When he tees it up in England next summer, it will be his 26th consecutive start in an Open Championship.
