On a brutal day at 13th Beach, it was always going to be a case of last man (and woman) standing. And it turned out to be Su Oh, the Melburnian, who began a potential resurgence with the victory from nowhere in the women’s Vic Open.

Seven shots back and tied-10th at the start of the day, the 28-year-old Oh vaulted up the leaderboard and by the time she tapped in for par at the 18th and a 2-over 74, she had moved up to tied-second.

She was three shots behind Japan’s Shina Kanazawa, at even par overall, it was 4.30pm and an excruciating two-hour wait was to come as Kanazawa and her compatriot Madoka Kimura negotiated a course turned foul by the most cruel of Golf Gods.

Fifty kilometre winds gusting to 70 meant that Oh knew that she had a chance. The course was barely playable; numerous players had their golf balls moved on the green and club selection was impossible.

Japanese Tour star Kanazawa was worn down by the howling wind and made bogey at the 14 from long and left of the green, the 15th from the fairway bunker, the 16th from short of the green and the 17th with a three-putt down the hill.

Suddenly Oh had the lead as she tried to stay warm on the driving range.

Kanazawa and Kimura were at 1-over and needed birdie at the par-5 18th for a playoff, but when they both missed the green with their wedge shots and could not chip-in, it was the Australian’s title.

Oh’s rounds of 70-76-60-74 put her ahead of Kanazawa by a shot at 1-over with Kimura third at 2-over. Neither of the Japanese pair could break 80 but they were scarcely alone. Over on the practice putting green 100 metres away, Oh embraced her sister Olivia and parents SG and Sukja. “I knew if I played decent I was going to get close, but I didn’t think I would actually win,” she said.

Not a single woman had broken par in round four; Oh and Kiwi Hanee Song managed the day’s best rounds of 74 but there were some outrageously big numbers.

Oh said they were “the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in”, but added that she did not mind when she got to the course and saw the high winds out of the south-east. She reasoned that it gave her a chance to make ground given the carnage that was likely to follow.

South Korean-born Oh has previously won the WPGA Championship (in 2022) and the Australian Ladies Masters (2015) as well as representing her adopted country at the 2016 Olympics, but this was her first win in her home state. It followed a string of near-misses at her home Open – runner-up in 2015, third in 2017, fourth in 2015.

It was also vindication for the work she has done with new coach Ritchie Smith – mentor to Hannah Green, Minjee and Min Woo Lee among others – since crossing to him last year. A golf prodigy who qualified for a Women’s Australian Open aged 12, she was a contemporary of Minjee Lee’s, but lost her full playing rights on the LPGA Tour in 2022 and hence, has been in a golfing limbo.

Perhaps Smith has the answers.

“He’s a very caring coach, and I think that’s half the battle,” she said. “He wants the best for his players and he’s obviously a good coach, not just me but everybody. It took less than a year to win and hopefully it’ll be good for the year.”

Next Sunday, she heads to America to play the secondary Epson Tour, with the aim of regaining her LPGA Tour card. “I love this tournament,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll be back next year. I’ve always been close here, and everyone who’s won has been pretty good, so hopefully I’ll follow that trajectory and have a good year.

“Hopefully I can play better than ever. I wouldn’t work this hard if I didn’t think I could get it back.”

The Su Oh journey continues.