Aussie golf ace pipped by South African champ

South African Ashleigh Buhai has has defended her Australian Open title, securing a one-stroke win over Aussie crowd favourite, Minjee Lee.

Buhai carried a three-stroke lead into the final round, but the lead was only a single stroke over Lee by the time they arrived on the 18th tee.

In breezy conditions at The Australian in Sydney's east, Buhai was shaky throughout her fourth round.

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She didn't make a single birdie on her way to a three-over 75, and had to sweat over a tricky three-footer for par on the 18th to seal the win.

Lee carded a three-under 69 on her way to second place.

"To be honest, I wasn't feeling the pressure," Buhai said.

"I knew Minjee would come at me today, but the conditions were so tough.

"I just kind of said, 'hit it to your spaces, play park golf, make them catch you'."

Buhai gave Lee a big sniff when she hit her second shot on the 17th hole into the water., but Lee was unable to fully capitalise and only made par to the South African's bogey.

"It was just crazy how (that shot) got stuck up in the wind, I really couldn't believe it," Buhai said.

But the tension didn't end there. Buhai had about 6m on the 18th green, but left herself a tricky downhill three-foot putt to save par and seal the win.

Despite the result, Lee said she was happy with how she played, "but a little unhappy at the same time".

"(Friday) I kind of let myself down a little bit, but other than that I had a pretty good tournament.

"I just try to do my best (and) stay in the present most of the time. 

"I obviously try (not) to think about what she was doing or anything like that. You never know results – even her last putt, I was like 'I don't know'."

Lee said the Australian Open would be her last tournament before the took a break. She won't play again until the end of February.

"I want to reflect, I want to reset my goals," she said.

"I've had a successful year, but I feel like the beginning was not as good as I wanted. There are a few things I want to reflect back on, and I'm really proud of how I came back.

"I felt like I really deserved the wins I had early in the season … I just want to reward myself with a bit of R&R."