Victorian teenager Su Oh has won the Australian Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast in just her second tournament as a professional.
Oh shot a four-under-par 69 at Royal Pines on Sunday to finish seven-under overall and claim the tournament by three shots from former champion Katherine Kirk and England’s Florentyna Parker.
The 18-year-old, who finished second at the Victorian Open last week in her professional debut, took the outright lead on the 15th hole of her round after back-to-back birdies.
She then hit the pin with her approach on the 17th before nailing her third straight birdie putt to put one hand on the trophy going to the final hole.
A wonderful approach on the par-five 18th gave Oh an eagle opportunity.
That didn’t drop but a tap-in for her fourth-straight birdie gave her the victory and brought her to tears, as she cemented her status as one of the rising stars of Australian ladies golf.
Sunday’s win also gives Oh a two-year exemption for the Ladies European Tour.
Kirk, the six-time ALPG Tour winner and 2009 Masters champion, had looked a likely winner after a four-under 69 on Sunday enabled her to finish on four-under for the tournament.
But Parker (69) caught her with a long birdie putt on the 18th and then Oh put on her late show to leave the 32-year-old Queenslander in her wake.
Overnight leader and tournament favourite Charley Hull was holding a one-shot lead when she had a meltdown on the par-four sixth.
The 18-year-old sprayed her tee shot left and into trees, having an air-swing on her second stroke before taking a drop for an unplayable lie.
It hardly got better from there, with Hull sending her fourth shot to the right of the green before two-putting to complete a disastrous triple bogey.
That allowed 17-year-old Taiwanese player Ssu-Chia Cheng to briefly take the lead at the turn, before she faded in the face of the challenges from Kirk, Parker and Oh.
Gold Coast high school student Rebecca Kay also completed a strong display with a birdie on the 18th to finish as the leading amateur, the 16-year-old finishing at two-under for the event.
