Hannah Green holds off Celine Boutier surge to win LPGA title in South Korea

PAJU – Australia’s Hannah Green held off a late surge from France’s Celine Boutier to win the LPGA BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea on Oct 20.

Green went into the final day with a two-shot advantage, but Boutier hit five birdies in her final seven holes to card a six-under 66 for an 18-under clubhouse lead at Seowon Valley Country Club.

Green’s birdie on the 17th hole proved enough to clinch her third title of 2024, as she finished with a round of 71 and a 19-under total of 269.

“It helps that I’ve been hitting the ball well, and when the putter goes well, it does go well,” said the 27-year-old.

“So just making sure that I can stay consistent.

“But I still have four or five more tournaments for the rest of the year, so I want to continue to work hard and have myself in these type of positions.”

It was the sixth LPGA title for Green, who won a Major at the 2019 Women’s PGA Championship.

The 30-year-old Boutier, who finished in a share of ninth at LPGA Shanghai on Oct 13, said: “I had a lot of opportunities on the front (nine) but I just wasn’t able to convert.

“And on the back, I was able to hit a few really close and that gave me kind of confidence.”

Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen also put herself into title contention with a four-under final round.

The 20-year-old hit four birdies and an eagle on the front nine, only for her challenge to fizzle out with two bogeys to fall to third place, two shots behind Green.

Olympic champion Lydia Ko finished joint-12th, six strokes off the pace on 13 under.

The New Zealander was close to the leading pack heading into the weekend but fell behind after carding 71s on the final two days.

Defending champion Minjee Lee of Australia finished tied 33rd on five under after a disastrous five-over 77 in her final round.

On the men’s tour, Doug Ghim and J.T. Poston shared the lead at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas when play was halted due to darkness on Oct 19.

The third round will conclude on the morning of Oct 20, ahead of the fourth round.

“Just glad that we’re going to be able to finish the tournament,” Ghim said. “I’m sure everybody would’ve loved to have finished today. At the same time, it’s not our first rodeo.”

The American made a big move on Oct 19, birdying his final four holes at TPC Summerlin, while going seven under through 16 holes. That left him at 15 under overall. Poston is two under in the third round through 13 holes.

Kurt Kitayama and Gary Woodland each completed rounds of six-under 65 on Oct 19, leaving them at 14 under.

Also at 14 under are Harris English and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti, who are four under through 14 holes in the third round.

South Korea’s Lee Kyoung-hoon is in the clubhouse at 13 under after a third-round 65.

He is tied for seventh place with J.J. Spaun (five under through 17 holes), Davis Thompson (five under through 16), Norman Xiong (one under through 13), Canada’s Taylor Pendrith (three under through 13) and Germany’s Matti Schmid (even par through 13). AFP, REUTERS