Ryggs Johnston wins Australian Open for first title. Jiyai Shin wins women's event

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Unheralded American Ryggs Johnston won his first professional title by claiming the Australian Open by three stokes, while South Korea’s Jiyai Shin claimed her second Women’s Australian Open, which was played concurrently at two courses on the famed Melbourne sand belt.

Johnston shot a 68 on Sunday to finish at 18-under 269 and three clear of Australian Curtis Luck (68), who had briefly taken the lead on the final stretch at Kingston Heath.

The 24-year-old Montana native, with a world ranking of No. 953, is the first American to win the Stonehaven Cup since Jordan Spieth won it for a second time in 2016. Other former winners include Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

“It’s just really cool to be in group that’s with those guys,” Johnston said. “And I’m just pretty honoured to be able to put my name on it now, and I’ll cherish this moment forever.”

Marc Leishman (69), who plays on the LIV Tour, and fellow Australian Jasper Stubbs (70) were tied for the third at 14-under 273.

After leading, or having a share of the lead after the first three rounds, Australian Lucas Herbert had a testing day on the greens as he shot a 74 to slide to 12-under and a tie for fifth.

The day started brightly though for Johnston with an eagle at the first. But he followed that with two birdies traded with three bogeys as he made the turn with a 35.

The former Arizona State University player showed more composure in the final stretch, making three more birdies, for no bogeys, as he closed out the biggest win of his young career with par at the final hole at Kingston Heath, which will host the 2028 Presidents Cup.

Defending men’s champion Joaquin Niemann couldn't repeat his 64 from Saturday which saw him storm back into contention and could only manage an even par final round of 72 for a 12-under 275 total and a tie for sixth.

The 2022 British Open champion Cameron Smith shot 71 Sunday to finish at 3-under 285 and in a tie for 39th to end his four-tournament stint back home winless.

In the Women’s Australian Open, Shin withstood a late challenge from a fast-finishing Ashleigh Buhai to claim her second Australia Open title.

Shin shot a 70 on Sunday for a 17-under-par 274 total to win by two shots from the twice defending champion Buhai (68).

The former world No.1 had led by as many as seven shots in the final round but Buhai's five birdies, with one bogey, on the final stretch made Shin's victory far less certain.

The 36-year-old South Korean didn't falter and sunk a seven-foot putt at the last to close out her 65th professional title and a second Australian Open since winning in 2013.

“Now I can breathe,” Shin said. “I only had one Australian Open trophy so I am really excited for this next one, especially at this golf course at Kingston Heath.

“I lost in 2008 to Karrie Webb so now I feel much better.”

Buhai was bidding to become the first triple consecutive winner at the Australian Open and had a 12-foot birdie attempt at the last to narrow Shin’s margin to one shot, but it skirted by the cup.

The 17-year-old amateur Hyojin Yang finished third at seven under, 10 shots behind compatriot Shin, after a final round 72.

Hannah Green (79) had a disastrous start to her final round, falling out of contention early with three bogeys and a double bogey in her first nine holes.

Green finished in a tie for fourth with compatriot Grace Kim (70) at 6-under 285.

LPGA Tour regular Minjee Lee shot 71 to finish in a tie for seventh at 3-under 288, while her brother, PGA Tour player Min Woo Lee, had a 70 for a 5-under 282 and tied for 27th.

The tournaments had alternating tee times — and with level prize money for the second consecutive year — at the par-72 Kingston Heath (par-73 for the Women’s Open) and par-71 Victoria Golf Club.

Kingston Heath hosted the final two rounds after rotating with the Victoria Golf Club for the opening two rounds.

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Jiyai Shin of Korea reacts on the 18th green after winning the Australian Open women's golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Jiyai Shin of Korea chips onto the 16th green during the final round of the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ryggs Johnston of the United States lines up his putt on the 18th green during the final round of the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ryggs Johnston of the United States watches his shot into the 18th green during the final round of the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ryggs Johnston of the United States reacts after winning the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ryggs Johnston of the United States kisses the Stonehaven Cup after winning the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ryggs Johnston, left, of the United States and Jiyai Shin of Korea hold their trophies after winning the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees say it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into Gaza because the route on the Gaza side has become too dangerous.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza, said Sunday said the route is vulnerable to looting.

Armed men robbed a large convoy last month, and he said armed gangs stole another shipment on Saturday.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least six people overnight, including two young children who died in the tent where their family was sheltering, medical officials said Sunday.

The strike in the Muwasi area, a sprawling tent camp housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people, also wounded the children's mother and their sibling, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital saw the bodies.

A separate strike in the southern city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, killed four men, according to hospital records.

The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in either location. Israel says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its daily strikes across Gaza often kill women and children.

In a separate development, a projectile fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen set off air raid sirens in central Israel. The Israeli military said it intercepted the projectile before it entered Israeli territory.

A former top Israeli general and defense minister has accused the government of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have been waging the latest in a series of offensives against Hamas since early October.

The army has sealed off the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, and the Jabaliya refugee camp, and allowed almost no humanitarian aid to enter. Tens of thousands of people have fled, while the United Nations estimates up to 75,000 remain and experts have warned of famine.

Moshe Yaalon, who served as defense minister under Benjamin Netanyahu before quitting in 2016 and emerging as a fierce critic of the prime minister, said the current far-right government is determined to “occupy, to annex, to ethnically cleanse.”

Pressed by an interviewer with a local news outlet on Saturday, he said: “There is no Beit Lahiya. No Beit Hanoun. (They are) operating now in Jabaliya, and (they) are actually cleaning the territory of Arabs.”

Yaalon doubled down on the remarks Sunday in an interview with Israeli radio, saying “war crimes are being committed here.”

Netanyahu’s Likud party criticized his earlier remarks, accusing him of making “false statements” that are “a prize for the International Criminal Court and the camp of Israel haters.”

The ICC has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu, another former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas commander, accusing them of crimes against humanity. The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations of genocide against Israel.

Israel rejects the allegations and says both courts are biased against it.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around people 250 hostage. Some 100 captives are still being held inside Gaza, around two-thirds of whom are believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands have crammed into squalid tent camps, where conditions have worsened as the cold, wet winter sets in.

Israel reached a ceasefire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militants last week that has largely held, but that agreement, brokered by the United States and France, did not address the ongoing war in Gaza. Iran — which supports Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and armed groups in Syria and Iraq — has exchanged fire with Israel twice this year.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent much of the past year trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages, but those efforts stalled as Israel rejected Hamas' demand for a complete withdrawal from the territory. The Biden administration has said it will make another push for a deal in its final weeks in office.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end the wars in the Middle East, without saying how. He was a staunch defender of Israel and its policies toward the Palestinians during his previous term.

Magdy reported from Cairo Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Nov. 30, 2024.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Shireen Daifallah, who was displaced from northern Gaza, checks one of her children in their tent at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah. Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Shireen Daifallah, who was displaced from northern Gaza, checks one of her children in their tent at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah. Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Shireen Daifallah's children, who were displaced from northern Gaza, sleep in their tent at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah. Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Shireen Daifallah, who was displaced with her children from northern Gaza, checks the fire next to their tent at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah. Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Shireen Daifallah, who was displaced with her children from northern Gaza, checks the fire next to their tent at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah. Gaza Strip, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)