Australian Open: Daniel Hillier tied for sixth as Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen wins at Royal Melbourne

Sunday, 7 December 2025

Daniel Hillier of New Zealand tees off on the eighth during his final round at Royal Melbourne.

By Daniel Hillier’s estimate, a mere two or three shots in Dubai cost him a prized spot on the PGA Tour next year alongside compatriot Ryan Fox.

On Sunday at Royal Melbourne, Hillier rued another near miss as he got tantalisingly close to becoming the first New Zealander to win the Australian Open, 121 years after it was first contested.

The 27-year-old from Wellington was prominent all week but faded late as he finished 10-under, five shots behind the winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark who beat Cam Smith when the Australian missed a par putt on the last which would have sent it to a playoff.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark on his way to winning the Australian Open.

With a US Masters spot beckoning for the winner of the Stonehaven Cup, Hillier got within two shots of the lead down the stretch and was right in the hunt before a double-bogey on the last saw him sign for an even-par 71 and a tie for sixth. Neergaard-Petersen holed a clutch par putt for an up-and-down on the 18th before Smith slid his attempt past to gasps from the big gallery.

Fox, co-leader after day one, shot a final round of 70 to finish seven-under in a tie for 14th with local favourite Min Woo Lee and world No 2 Rory McIlroy who was never a title threat but finished with successive birdies to delight the crowd.

Hillier’s finish continued a solid past few weeks, when he placed 18th on the DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings which earned him direct entry to next year’s British Open at Royal Birkdale. The world No 149 banked a healthy $3.66 million in prizemoney, thanks largely to his runnerup finish in the Dubai Desert Classic last January.

Agonisingly, though, Hillier was just two places outside the top-10 non-exempt finishers on the Race to Dubai rankings who received dual membership on the PGA Tour next year.

“It was 150 points or something in the end. Two or three shots would have been the difference but, yeah, that’s golf,” he said of last month’s tour finale.

“I gave it a good run at the back end of the year, the last couple of months have been really good. I’m pretty proud that I gave myself a chance in the end.”

So too did Hillier this week at one of the world’s top courses on the opening swing of the 2026 DP World Tour season, where he was remarkably consistent with rounds of 68, 68, 67 and 71.

He began the final round four shots off the pace and often appeared frustrated at being unable to get close with his approaches. Still he hung in there and with curling putts on the treacherous greens he made birdies at the second and sixth, before watching long attempts slide past at seven and eight.

On Saturday Hillier charged on the back nine and made five birdies in his last eight holes. A day later it was tougher and he found trouble under a tree on 12 but still made par. Another long putt for a save on 15 kept Hillier in it, then on 16 when a birdie attempt just missed it looked his final roll of the dice.

He said on Saturday of the secret to success at Royal Melbourne: “It’s still pretty firm and fiery so you’ve still got to be rather conservative… sometimes you’ve got to take your medicine and with the par-fives try to take advantage and see where that gets you.”

Of the other Kiwis, Nick Voke finished three-under and Tyler Hodge two-under, while Kazuma Kobori missed the cut after rounds of 75 and 70.