In one of the most thrilling conclusions in Australian Open history, Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen stunned Royal Melbourne with a final-hole par to deny Cameron Smith the Stonehaven Cup.
The 2025 Australian Open ended in dramatic fashion at Royal Melbourne as Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory, denying local hero Cameron Smith in a heart-stopping finish.
Tied at 15-under heading to the 72nd hole, Smith looked poised to finally lift the Stonehaven Cup when his approach found the green, while Neergaard-Petersen flared his second shot into thick rough between bunkers.
What followed was pure theatre as the Dane conjured an audacious chip to 15 feet and nervelessly holed the par putt, pumping his fists as the ball dropped. Smith, needing five feet to force a playoff, missed left, leaving the home crowd stunned.
“It’s hard. I’m really at a loss for words,” Neergaard-Petersen said greenside. “It’s been a battle all day. Even from the outside you can look calm, but there was a storm inside all day today. I managed to just keep battling and then to get it up-and-down from there – to make that putt on the last – I don’t really know what to say to be honest.”
Neergaard-Petersen called the shot “one in a hundred,” admitting he thought his chances were slim from that lie.
“I always had that belief that if I continued to hit my spots the putts would eventually drop.”
For Smith, the heartbreak was palpable. After draining a clutch birdie at 17 to stay level, the Queenslander walked up the last to deafening cheers, seemingly in control.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had this feeling to be honest,” Smith said earlier in the week. “I love that it’s the Australian Open. I couldn’t think of a better place to get back into form”
But his three-putt bogey extended Australia’s drought in its national championship to seven years.
“We’ve all been there,” Neergaard-Petersen said sympathetically. “He’s a class act and it was great to be out there with him today.”
The victory caps a remarkable rise for the 26-year-old Dane, who was playing the HotelPlanner Tour just 12 months ago. Now he’s a DP World Tour winner, secured a PGA Tour card for 2026, and earned an invitation to Augusta for The Masters.
“The Masters is the event I’ve grown up watching so many times, just dreaming of playing it, so to get to do that is awesome,” Neergaard-Petersen said.
He also becomes the first Dane to etch his name on the Stonehaven Cup. Si Woo Kim finished third at 13-under, while Adam Scott’s solo fifth booked him a spot at next year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale
Royal Melbourne delivered a fitting stage for this showdown, with its sandbelt brilliance and swirling winds demanding creativity. The galleries were enormous, buoyed by Rory McIlroy’s return and a Sunday crowd of more than 33,000.
McIlroy summed up the week perfectly.
“The crowds, the golf course, they were absolutely incredible… I can’t wait to come back next year.”