Ashleigh Buhai has held on to become the first back-to-back women’s Australian Open champion in more than a decade, fighting off a late challenge from Minjee Lee.

The South African denied Australian Lee an elusive national championship with a tension-filled one-stroke triumph over the popular pre-tournament favourite.

Buhai closed with a nervy three-over-par 75 at The Australian in Sydney to finish with a nine-under 280 total and successfully defend the title she won last year at the Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne.

The 34-year-old is the first player to win successive Opens since 2011.

But despite being as many as four shots in front down the stretch, Buhai’s victory was anything but comfortable.

Incredibly, she could not find a single birdie all round, while the vanquished runner-up Lee rolled in eight.

Trailing by four shots with five holes to play, Lee cut Buhai’s lead to just one heading up the last after the 2022 British Open champion found the water on the 17th.

However, a precious par on the 18th hole was enough for Buhai as Lee was unable to fashion a ninth birdie in an otherwise valiant three-under round of 69.

After starting the day seven strokes behind, Lee knew she needed to conjure something special.

She delivered, sinking six birdies in the first 10 holes.

Some wretched bad luck on the 11th hole, when her ball ensconced itself deep in the upslope of a bunker, could have cruelled two-time major winner Lee’s momentum.

But the world number five brushed off the bogey and swiftly posted a bounce-back birdie on the 12th hole.

Lee’s hopes again appeared to evaporate when she double-bogeyed the par-four 13th after leaving her approach short, then watched her chip shot spin back off the green.

But Buhai offered her a lifeline with successive bogeys of her own on 13 and 14 — her first blemishes since Friday — and Lee replied with the eighth birdie to reduce the deficit to two shots once again.

Alas for Lee, Buhai calmly two-putted from 12 feet on the last to close out the championship.

AAP