Dane Creates Aussie Open History While Labelling A Guttered Smith ‘A Class Act’.

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Dane Ramas Neegaard-Petersen has created Crown Australian Open history while labelling a guttered Cam Smith a ‘Classs Act’.

The duo headed to the 72nd hole at Royal Melbourne tied for the lead and with the 108th hosting of Australia’s premier event looking to be headed to a play-off at Royal Melbourne.

Though the anticipated excitement turned into bitter disappointment for the 30,000 plus home crowd when for a second day running Smith bogeyed the last, missing a five-footer for par, to hand victory to his Danish-born rival.

Smith has won the Australian PGA Championship three times and the 2022 Open Championship but has made no secret of the fact that – outside the majors – the Australian Open is the title he craves most.

Victory for Neegaard-Petersen is a first win the 108wth hosting of the Australian Open for a Scandinavian-born player while it also his maiden DP World Tour success in just the start of his second full season, having earned his 2025 DPWT thanks to three wins on the 2024 secondary Hotel Planner Tour.

“We’ve all been there and I know he’s been very close,” said Neergaard-Petersen after Smith was too disappointed to speak.

“This is one of the events that is very big for him so obviously I feel for him in that way.

“I was nowhere on 18. I had nothing on the right and somehow, some way I managed to get it up and down.

“He’s a class act and it was great to be out there with him today.”

Neergaard-Petersen, who has finihed 15th on the 2025 Race to Dubai and still earn a PGA Tour card, finished the week on 15 under par after signing for a closing 70 which contained four birdies and three bogeys.

Smith was alone in second on 14 under, one ahead of South Korea’s Si Woo Kim in third.

Neergaard-Petesen was already exempt into next year’s Open Championship however his ‘Down Under’ triumph earned him a maiden invitation into next April’s Masters.

He said: “I’m really at a loss for words.

“It’s been a battle all day. From the outside, sometimes you can look calm but there was a storm inside all day today.

“But 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.

“It’s one of those things I feel like I’ve done the other couple of days – I’ve been able to finish well.

“So I always had that belief that if I just keep trying to hit my spots, eventually the putts were going to drop and I was going to be able to get some of those shots back.

“Obviously, the birdie on the 12th was huge, getting back into a tie for the lead there.”

And asked about heading Augusta National Golf Club, he added: “It means the world.

“The Masters is the event I’ve grown up watching so many times, just dreaming of playing it.

“Getting to do that is awesome. It’s gone by so fast. I don’t feel like it’s been two and a half years since I’ve been out of college. I haven’t even been a pro for that long.

“To get the win here at my final event of the year was the only thing missing from a perfect year. I’m so happy.”



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