World No 954 golfer Ryggs Johnston turns into lethal weapon to win Australian Open

Unheralded American Ryggs Johnston has crashed the party with a stunning and improbable Australian Open triumph in Melbourne.

The world No 954 emerged from a big pack of home hopes to steal the Stonehaven Cup with a nerveless final-round four-under-par 68 at Kingston Heath on Sunday.

More famous for his naming after Mel Gibson’s Lethal Weapon character than for his golfing prowess, Johnston finished three shots clear of former amateur sensation Curtis Luck with an 18-under 269 winning total.

Astonishingly, the victory was the 24-year-old’s first in a four-round tournament of any kind since high school.

Known as “The Big Slick”, Johnston started the final round as equal leader with Lucas Herbert and went on with the job as the Victorian sentimental favourite unravelled.

Herbert cursed the greens repeatedly during his closing two-over round of 74 and eventually slumped to fifth at 12 under, six shots adrift of Johnston.

The 28-year-old cruelly missed a berth at next year’s British Open by two shots.

Instead runner-up Luck and Herbert’s LIV Golf teammate Marc Leishman booked their tickets to Royal Portrush with coveted top-three showings.

Leishman drained a clutch five-foot birdie putt at penultimate hole in his final-round 69 to finish equal third at 14 under.

Jasper Stubbs also ended at 14 under but the world No.1486 lost out to the 575th-ranked Leishman on a countback for a trip to Northern Ireland.

Unable to accrue rankings points since defecting to the Saudi-backed rebel league, 2015 British Open runner-up Leishman hasn’t contested a major since 2022.

Luck, once the world’s top-ranked amateur who lost his Korn Ferry Tour card this year in the US, will be returning to the major scene for the first time since his one and only appearance in 2017 when he tied for 46th at the Masters.

In the women’s tournament, Jiyai Shin kept Ashleigh Buhai at bay to claim her second Australia Open title in a dramatic finish.

Shin had been on track for a record-setting victory before holding on for a two-shot win with a 17-under-par 274 total as hopes of a first home triumph in a decade quickly evaporated on Sunday.

The South Korean former world No 1 had led by as many as seven shots in the final round but had to drain a seven-foot putt at the last to close with a round of 70 and avoid an even more anxious finale.

Bidding to become the first player in the tournament’s 50-year history to complete a winning hat-trick, Buhai had a 12-foot birdie attempt on the 72nd hole to apply pressure on Shin.

But the South African shaded the cup as the 36-year-old Shin added a 65th professional title to her incredible CV.

Shin’s trophy cabinet includes two British Open crowns and now two Australian Open titles, having first etched her name on the Patricia Bridges Bowl in 2013.

Her 17-year-old amateur compatriot Hyojin Yang finished third at seven under, 10 shots behind the winner and eight adrift of the runner-up, after positing a final-round 72.

Hannah Green and fellow LPGA Tour star Grace Kim were the leading Australians in a tie for fourth at six under.

It was a forgettable day for Green, who started just one shot behind Shin and hopeful of capping a stellar season with a fourth title of the year. Instead, Green finished with an eight-over 79.