Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
It took 27 holes Sunday, but Boutier eventually outlasted Atthaya Thitikul in a wild playoff at LPGA Malaysia overseas.
In what turned out to be a marathon final day of the LPGA Maybank Championship, Celine Boutier captured her fourth title of the season.
Boutier shot a final round 8-under 64 to blow past the leaderboard and finish at 21-under for the tournament. That landed her in a playoff with Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, who shot a 4-under 68 Sunday.
Both players had numerous chances to end the tournament, but it was Boutier on the ninth playoff hole who got it done.
“I didn’t expect it to be that long, to be honest,” Boutier said after the win. “I felt like we were both very close to winning a few times… I knew she wasn’t going to make a mistake, so I had to go for it and give myself the best chances for birdies.”
Thitikul’s birdie putt on the final hole, the par-3 15th, just lipped out. That opened the door for the Frenchwoman, who capitalized sinking a six foot birdie for the crown.
As if 27 holes isn’t a long enough day, there was actually a 90-minute weather delay prior to the playoff beginning.
“I wasn’t sure for how long we were going to be delayed, so I just went down to the locker room where it was a bit more quiet and kind of stayed in my own bubble,” said Boutier.
She showed that concentration and resolve during the playoff, remaining locked in hole after hole.
Boutier had two career LPGA wins prior to her 2023 season. Now she has six, as her breakout season continued.
She won the LPGA Drive On Championship in March, then Boutier went back-to-back this summer, claiming the Evian Championship for her first major title, and the Women’s Scottish Open.
The final stop on the LPGA’s Asian Swing is next week for the Toto Classic in Japan.
