Australian Green wins LPGA tournament in S. Korea

Hannah Green of Australia won the lone annual LPGA Tour event held in South Korea on Sunday, fending off multiple contenders with a late birdie for her third victory of 2024.

Green shot a one-under 71 to finish at 19-under overall to capture the BMW Ladies Championship by one stroke over Celine Boutier of France at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, northwest of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province.

With Boutier in the clubhouse at 18-under after shooting a bogey-free 66, Green birdied the par-4 17th to grab the sole possession of the lead, and closed out her sixth win of her career with a two-putt par on the 18th. Green cashed in US$330,000 in the winner's check.

Green became the third player with at least three LPGA wins this year and the first Australian to win three times in a season since Karrie Webb in 2006.

Green, who either shared or held the lead after each round, said it was "a crazy finish."

"My caddie said to me at the start of the day, 'Let's try and get a lead and have a bit of a cushion coming in.' I did not do that and made it very interesting," she said. "But the putt on 17, I was very nervous. I was just very happy to see that one go in and on the last hole I was hoping I would have more of a tap-in but I like to make things interesting. But just super proud of myself for hanging in there because today, conditions were very tough. The wind was very swirly, and I think everyone was trying to battle the wind."

Choi Hye-jin and Sung Yu-jin finished as the top South Koreans, tying for fourth at 16-under. Choi shot a 67 while Sung carded an even 72.

Sung, an LPGA rookie, began the final round alone in second place at 16-under, two strokes back of Green, but had two birdies and two bogeys on Sunday to end up with the same score.

Two more South Koreans finished inside the top 10, with Ryu Hae-ran tying for sixth at 15-under and Lim Jin-hee tying for eighth at 14-under.

The BMW Ladies Championship was first held in 2019, and this was the fifth edition, with the 2020 tournament canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Koreans Jang Hana and Ko Jin-young won the 2019 and 2021 events, followed by two players of Korean descent, Lydia Ko of New Zealand in 2022 and Minjee Lee of Australia in 2023. (Yonhap)