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The 2023 ISPS Handa Australian Open has stacked fields comprising of several DP World Tour and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia players. Despite this, the defending Australian Open champions Adrian Meronk (men) and Ashleigh Buhai (women) are looking forward to the event.
The golfers are positive about going into the event being played at The Lakes and The Australian Golf Clubs. Meronk is one of the top names to watch at the event. The 30-year-old Polish golfer carded an impressive 14-under par to beat the likes of Adam Scott and last week’s Australian PGA Championship winner Min Woo Lee.
Dubbing it an “amazing win,” Meronk said that it wasn’t “easy” to play last year. Furthermore, he noted that ‘everyone was against him’ except for a few supporters, as he went up against Scott in the final round.
Recalling his win at the 2022 Australian Open, Adrian Meronk said on tournament eve, as quoted by Golf Australia:
“It was an amazing win for me, a great start of the new season last year. I had my girlfriend and her family with me as well, so it was a very special week for me. I really enjoyed it, especially playing with my childhood hero Adam Scott on Sunday.
It wasn’t easy, to be honest (the crowd's support for Adam Scott). Everyone was against me except for five people, maybe. I learnt a lot from that victory.”
It is important to note that Meronk, with the win, became the man to beat at the Australian Open. The golfer has since claimed wins in the Irish and Italian Open. He is currently a favorite to win and defend his Australian crown this week.
Ashleigh Buhai on defending the Australian Open title
Meronk is not alone on the throne. Ladies European Tour star Ashleigh Buhai also had an impressive 2022 Australian Open campaign. The 34-year-old South African golfer, who claimed four titles including the AIG Women’s Open, last season is currently eyeing to defend her trophy this week.
Buhai beat the likes of Jiyai Shin, Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Minjee Lee to win the Australian Open last year. The golfer has since been on the run. She dubbed it the ‘best 12 months of her career’ and noted that she’s stoked to defend her titles.
Ashleigh Buhai said ahead of the Australian Open:
“It was the best 12 months of my career running from August through to this year, to win four times worldwide. My goal was to win on the LPGA Tour in the U.S, and I managed to tick that off… The end of the season has been a bit rough for me; I was dealing with an injury, I had to take five weeks off. Went to Asia, got sick.
So not the end of the season I was hoping for, but I’m happy with the way I’m swinging it, and hopefully get the putter hot. These courses really suit my eye, and I’m really looking forward to the week.”
It is pertinent to note that Buhai struggled with injuries towards the end of the year. The South African went from having a great year to one of her worst. However, she is still excited to take on the competition and defend her crown this weekend.
Australian All Abilities Champion Kipp Popert will also be looking to defend his title in Sydney alongside Meronk and Buhai.
