They are at opposite ends of their careers but Kiwi golfers Josh Geary and Fiona Xu have both produced one of their best results at the Australian Open.
37-year-old Geary finished in sixth in the men’s Open, while 17-year-old amateur Xu ended 10th in the women’s tournament held at the same time on the same course.
Geary, the world No 701, had an undulating final round with five birdies and five bogies at Victoria Golf Club to card an even-par 70 and drop just one spot in an extremely consistent week.
Xu, the world No 87 amateur, showed her immense promise by opening with a four-under round and closing with a three-under effort, but ruing a second round 77 that denied her a chance to contend on the weekend.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk won the men’s event by five strokes after sitting 10 shots off the lead after his first round 73, but it was far closer than it looked, with local favourite Adam Scott trailing by just one for most of the back nine, before double bogeying the par-four 17th.