Malixi settles for 3rd

Rianne Malixi suffered a late meltdown to yield the title to Hyojin Yang of South Korea in the final round of the Australian Master of the Amateurs on Monday at the Southern Golf Club in Victoria, Australia.

Malixi, the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, suffered a bogey on No. 12 and a double-bogey on No. 13 to surrender the crown.

She finished with a 1-over par 74 in the final round for a total of 289 to settle for third behind Hyojin and hometown bet Ella Scaysbrook, who posted total scores of 286 and 288, respectively.

The 17-year-old Hyojin played her first four holes at 4-over but stormed back in the back nine, enough to give her a 2-shot win over Scaysbrook and 3-stroke over Malixi.

The 17-year-old Filipina will be flying home to see action in the Philippine Open from 23 to 26 January at the Manila Southwoods in Makati City.