[Photo: Getty Images]
Cameron Smith was devastated.
The major winner missed a short putt to take the Australian Open into a playoff at Royal Melbourne after Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen made a sublime par save to hoist the Stonehaven Cup.
Smith had made a crucial birdie putt on the par-5 17th to stay tied for the lead at 15-under-par before a brilliant drive down the 18th fairway and a smart, safe approach shot long and middle while the 18th green pin was on the right edge next to bunkers.
RELATED: Australian Open: Watch Rory McIlroy play shot from behind a BANANA PEEL(!) in latest Rory-coaster round
Neergaard-Petersen flared his second shot right and landed it short of the greenside traps. From a tricky lie in thick rough, he flopped the ball over a bunker to a tucked pin. Neergaard-Petersen then drained a 12-footer and a 70 that proved to be the winning par putt, finishing at 15-under 269.
On the 72nd hole, Smith had a treacherous long birdie putt that settled five feet from the hole and the ensuing par putt was to force a playoff. He missed it left and was visibly devastated. After a final round 69, Smith was second 14-under (270).
Neergaard-Petersen felt for Smith.
“Absolutely; we’ve all been there,” he said. “I know this is one of events that are very big for him, so obviously I feel him in that way. I was nowhere [out of position] on 18. I had nothing from the right and somehow some way I managed to get it up and down. But [Smith] a class act and it was great to be out there with him today.”
Si Woo Kim finished third at 13-under, Michael Hollick fourth at 12-under and Adam Scott solo fifth at 11-under. Those three automatically qualified for the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale given the Australian Open is on the R&A’s Open Qualifying Series and awarded three places to the top players on the leaderboard not already exempt.
It was Neergaard-Petersen’s first victory on the DP World Tour. The 26-year-old is also bound for the PGA Tour in 2026 having earned one of the 10 cards awarded to the best finishers on the European Tour final rankings.
Asked what the win means, Neergaard-Petersen said: “It’s putting an exclamation point on what’s been a perfect season,” he said. “I had two goals this year: get a PGA Tour card and win a tournament. To do it last event on the calendar year, I’m speechless.”
A three-time winner on the European secondary Challenge Tour, the Australian Open was Neergaard-Petersen’s first triumph on the DP World Tour. It’s ironic, because it was his last start on the European circuit before coming a PGA Tour member.
The former Oklahoma State golfer is bound for a return to the US in 2026 after grabbing one of the 10 PGA Tour cards given to the top finishers on the DP World Tour’s final Race to Dubai rankings. He’s also headed to the Masters. In August, Augusta National announced the Australian Open as one of six national opens whose winner would be invited to the 2026 Masters.
“It means the world to me,” Neergaard-Petersen said. “Growing up, the Masters, as soon as I watched that tournament, was the first event that I was like, ‘If I one day be a professional golfer, that’s the event I want to play.’ It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait for April.”
RELATED: Cam Smith’s last chance to redeem a lost year
Smith declined to speak to media as the 31-year-old grappled with the emotion of coming so close.
He has also copped considerable criticism this year for missing the first seven cuts – including majors – at events with Official World Golf Ranking points. He blew that out of the water at Royal Melbourne and was chasing a statement win.
The Stonehaven Cup is the trophy Smith wants most outside of a second career major and has come close several times without tasting success. He lost in a playoff to Jordan Spieth at the 2016 Australian Open at Royal Sydney before a fourth place the next year.
This was Smith’s best chance since 2017 and as an admirer of Royal Melbourne, Smith wanted this victory dearly as the national championship hadn’t been played at the iconic venue since 1991.
But after what Smith described as “a crappy year” on the course, he proved that his best golf is not far away from winning big tournaments.
It just wasn’t the Australian Open.
