Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen achieved a feat, winning his first DP World Tour title at the Crown Australian Open. He finished with a 269 (67, 66, 66, 70, -15) on the par-71 Royal Melbourne Golf Club course in Melbourne, Australia, where Stefano Mazzoli finished 23rd with a 279 (69, 71, 68, 71, -5).
Neergaard-Petersen, a 26-year-old from Niva, took the lead in the second round, maintained it in the third, and won the fourth with a partial 70 (-1, four birdies, three bogeys) after a long duel with Australian Cam Smith, one of the stars of LIV Golf, who was second with a 270 (-14). Smith, at the halfway point, had opened up a two-shot lead over the leader, who, however, fought back to level the score. When a playoff seemed looming, Smith gave him the lead with a bogey to close out the tie (69, -2, five, birdie, three bogeys).
DP World Tour, results
Korean Si Woo Kim finished third with a 271 (-13), South African Michael Hollick finished fourth with a 272 (-12), Australian Adam Scott finished fifth with a 273 (-11), and New Zealander Daniel Hillier and Spaniard José Luis Ballester, who began his pro career this year in the Arab Super League, finished sixth with a 274 (-10). Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, world number two, finished 14th with a 277 (-7).
Neergaard-Petersen concluded 2025 on a high note, earning a ticket to the 2026 PGA Tour by finishing 15th in the DP World Tour rankings. He then landed there at the end of 2024 with the top spot in the HotelPlanner Tour rankings, where he notched three wins. The title earned him a €193,209 prize pool of approximately €1,130,000 (AUD $2,000,000 is the official total) and a spot in the field at the next Masters. The three berths for the 154th Open, in July, went to Kim, Hollick, and Scott.
Mazzoli, who earned his ticket with an eighth-place finish on the 2025 HotelPlanner Tour, delivered another strong performance following his 25th place finish at the previous Australian PGA Championship. He closed the competition with a partial 71 (par, three birdies, three bogeys). Gregorio De Leo (71 72) and Renato Paratore (73 70) made the cut, finishing 75th with a 143 (+1), out by one stroke, and Filippo Celli, 120th with a 147 (74 73, +5).
