Vic Open champions crowned

New Zealander Michael Hendry never gave the chasing pack even a whiff of victory as he claimed a dominant four-shot triumph in the men’s Vic Open at 13th Beach today (Sunday, February 12).

Hendry started Sunday’s final round with a three-stroke lead and that ballooned straight out to seven when he birdied the first and his nearest challenger, Australian Justin Warren, began with a disastrous triple bogey.

Hendry barely needed luck on his side after that but he still got a good slice of it on the par-3 third hole when his errant tee shot cannoned into a spectator and rolled back onto the green, allowing him to complete a straightforward par.

The 43-year-old closed with a level-par 72 for a four-round total of 21-under 267.

Fast-finishing David Micheluzzi birdied three of the final four holes to vault into outright second at 17 under, three shots ahead of fellow Australians Andrew Martin, Tom Power Horan and Warren, who rebounded admirably from his horror start to the day.

But none of them got close to challenging Hendry, who became the first New Zealander to win the Vic Open title since Michael Long in 2016.

“It’s been a while,” said Hendry.

“The last time I won on the Aussie tour was the 2017 New Zealand Open, so it was great to get across the line again.

“Just nice to be feeling fit and proving to myself that I’ve still got it.”

Hendry noted that growing up in New Zealand stood him in good stead when the wind got up, as it did on Sunday at 13th Beach.

“I”m not going to beat the golf course up; I don’t have the length any more,” he said.

“Just being a pretty accurate golfer and pretty good at controlling my ball flight maybe gave me an advantage today because I knew I was going to be able to keep it under the wind more then the guys who hit it long.”

And getting the fortunate break early in the day when his ball bounced off the spectator was the icing on the cake.

“If you’re going to win golf tournaments you’re going to get a bit of luck at some stage,” he said.

“Golf is one of those sports where you have to accept that luck is part of the game.

“It went my way today and I’m obviously very happy about it.”

In the women’s tournament, Jiyai Shin handed Cassie Porter a priceless lesson in big-time golf under pressure as the former world No.1 surged to a five-shot victory and then declared the young Queenslander a star in the making.

The 20-year-old Porter had led after each of the opening three rounds at 13th Beach, but she was unable to go with the South Korean superstar as the wind got up today.

Porter’s two-shot overnight advantage had disappeared within the opening two holes, which included a bogey for the Australian on the 1st and a birdie for Shin on the 2nd.

It was to be a portent of what was to come.

Shin eventually signed for a one-under 71 and a four-round total of 14-under 275 – five shots clear of Australian Grace Kim and Pavarisa Yoktuan from Thailand.

Porter dropped three shots in the last four holes for a seven-over 79 to slip all the way back to a tie for fourth with American Emma Talley at eight under.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow but you can’t do anything else than take the positives out of it, so onto the next one,” said Porter, who has only been a professional for 14 months.

“It’s just another day at work and everyone has hard days at work

“Jiyai is an amazing player.

“She was No.1 in the world at one point , she handled herself amazingly out there and I was just there to learn and I definitely did do that today.

“The golf is one thing, but how you handle yourself is a whole other thing.

“We can all learn something from Jiyai about how she handles tough situations… one under in conditions like this was outstanding.

“I was just very lucky to have a front-row seat.”

Two-time British Open champ Shin was more than happy to return the compliment, having played three of the four rounds alongside the youngster.

“I’m so glad to play with her for three days and I look forward to her playing all over the world,” said Shin, who became the fourth major winner to join a celebrated Vic Open honour roll since the women’s event became a 72-hole event in 2013.

“I played with her for the first two rounds and she was making everything.

“I was so surprised she was a rookie.

“Today I hope from this experience that she learned something.”

Australia’s LPGA Tour regular Su Oh had easily the best round of the day in the difficult windy conditions, a superb five-under 67, to vault up to a tie for sixth.

 – WITH AAP