Joaquin Niemann made eagle on the second overtime hole to edge Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino and become the first Chilean winner in 119 years of the Australian Open.
Niemann, who lipped out a 4-foot eagle putt on the first playoff hole, drained a slightly longer eagle attempt to claim his maiden DP World Tour title to go along with the two trophies he’d earned on the PGA Tour. It was also Niemann’s first career playoff victory, as he’d previously lost twice on the PGA Tour (Harris English, Sentry; Cam Davis, Rocket Mortgage), and once on the LIV Golf tour (Dustin Johnson, LIV Boston).
“It means a lot,” said Niemann, who qualified for The Open. “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.”
Min Woo Lee, who won last week’s Australian PGA, shared the overnight lead with Hoshino but struggled to a 72 to fall into third place.
Adam Scott (68) initially edged ahead of the lead pack with eight birdies through 16 holes but carded a triple bogey on the 17th to end any hopes. The Aussie finished T4 on 11 under, alongside Laurie Canter (68) and Grant Forrest (68).
