Geary and Xu excel at Australian Open
Pair lead New Zealand charge in Melbourne with top-10 finishes
They are at opposite ends of their careers but Kiwi golfers Josh Geary and Fiona Xu have produced one of their best results at the Australian Open. The 37-year-old Geary finished in sixth in the men’s Open, while 17-yearold amateur Xu ended 10th in the women’s tournament held at the same time on the same course.
Geary, the world No 701, had an undulating final round, with five birdies and five bogies at Victoria Golf Club to card an even-par 70 and drop just one spot in a consistent week.
Xu, the world No 87 amateur, showed her immense promise by opening with a four-under round and closing with three-under but ruing a second-round 77 that denied her a chance to contend on the weekend.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk won the men’s event by five strokes after sitting 10 shots off the lead after his first-round 73, but it was far closer than it looked, with local favourite Adam Scott trailing by just one for most of the back nine, before double bogeying the par-four 17th.
Then Meronk, who followed his 73 with rounds of 66, 63 and 66, sank an eagle putt from off the green on the final hole to extend his margin of victory and claim a stylish win that could see the world No 56 move into the top 50 and become the first Pole to play at the Masters.
Geary birdied the 18th to lock up sixth, while the other Kiwi to make the 54-hole cut, Luke Toomey, carded a final-round 72 to finish tied for 18th.
In the women’s event, 2022 British
Open champion Ashleigh Buhai was the only one to hold her nerve in a messy final round.
Former world No 1 Jiyai Shin (75) and Hannah Green (74) both had horror front nines, while 21-year-old Australian Grace Kim moved into a share of the lead at 11-under with one hole to play, only to double bogey the par-five and finish fourth.
Shin mounted a late comeback but missed a putt to send the event to a playoff, with Buhai’s birdie on 17 and par on the last enough to card a 73, finish at 12-under and win by a shot from Shin and two from Green.
Xu jumped six spots in her final round to finish 10th, while fellow Kiwi Momoka Kobori shot a final-round one-under 71 to move up five slots and finish in a share of 22nd.