Malixi fights back but fades in the stretch

Rianne Malixi battled back from four shots down with a determined frontside rebound but blew a two-stroke lead with a faltering finish, hobbling with a one-over 74 and sliding to joint second after three rounds of the Australian Master of the Amateurs Championship in Melbourne on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Local standout Lion Higo seized the opportunity, cashing in on the shaky starts of flightmates and erstwhile frontrunners Nika Ito from Japan and India’s Avani Prashanth, along with Malixi’s stretch-run stumble in a group ahead. She surged ahead with a series of birdies, producing a 70 and establishing a 54-hole total of seven-under 212 at the par-73 Southern Golf Club.

The 2021 champion’s impressive performance put her four shots ahead of Malixi, who pooled a 216 in a tie with Prashanth and Ito, who skied to 77 and 78, respectively, while Aina Fujimoto, also from Japan, fired a 70 to join Aussie Amelia Harris, who matched par 73, at 217.

Malixi initially took command of the stellar field with a big bounce-back from a bogey-bogey start, birdying Nos. 3 and 7 to salvage a 36. She then eagled the par-5 10th for the second time in three days to storm ahead by two.

But she failed to get up-and-down on the par-3 No. 12 then lost strokes on Nos. 14 and 15 to slip off the leaderboard.

Despite a birdie on the 17th, the ICTSI-backed ace holed out with another bogey to end up with a one-over card for an overall three-under total.

In contrast, Higo sustained her fightback from mishaps on Nos. 3 and 4 with birdies on Nos. 7, 8, 10, 13 and 16. She then held sway in the last two holes, securing a big cushion heading to the last 18 holes of one of the host country’s premier championships.

Ito, who flashed top form in the first two rounds to lead, bogeyed three of the first three holes, dropped another shot on No. 6 before holing out with a triple-bogey 7 on No. 13. She rallied with birdies on two of the last four holes to save a 40-38.

Prashanth likewise bogeyed three of the first six holes in a futile battle for control with Ito then made three more bogeys against two birdies in the last seven holes to finish with a 39-38, leaving Higo alone at the top of the Top 45 and ties who advanced to the final round.