Celine Boutier won the Maybank Championship after a nine-hole marathon playoff. She defeated Atthayathitikul by a 6-foot birdie. Boutier, the most successful French player in LPGA’s history, has now won four titles, including a Major, this season.
Boutier said, “I knew that she wouldn’t make a mistake. So I went for it to give myself the best chance for birdies.”
This was the 12th playoff on tour in this season. The storm delay of 90 minutes contributed to it. Boutier won her first win of the season by beating Solheim Cup partner Georgia Hall in overtime at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Arizona.
In 1972, Jo Ann Prentice beat Sandra Palmer and Kathy Whitworth after 10 holes at the Corpus Christi Civitan Open. Jiyai Shim defeated Paula Creamer at the 2012 Kingsmill Championship in nine extra-holes, the final being played on Monday.
Thitikul said that the steamy overtime was exhausting. It’s exhausting to be honest. “It’s probably the best playoff experience I have ever had.”
Celine Boutier, France and Atthaya Thtikul walk along the 18th fairway during a playoff eight hole at the Maybank Championship held in Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur on October 29, 2023. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images).
Rose Zhang, an American, led going into the final rounds. However her closing score of 71 placed her at a tie for third place with Jasmine Suwannapura.
Zhang said that she had learned a lot from the week. “It was important for me to know what my routine was,” she said. “I realized what worked for me and what I needed to improve on.” The short game was definitely something that needed practice. It almost felt like I was yipping out there.
It makes me hopeful for the future. “Kind of gives me hope for what is to come.”
Boutier soared to the top of the leaderboard with a 64-hole round that was bogey free on Sunday. She finished the tournament at 21 under par. Thitikul shot the same score of 68 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club as Boutier.
Boutier said that it was a “long shot” to win the tournament. “I was a good few shots behind and also knew that this course was very scoreable so I didn’t know what the leaders were going to look like. But I just tried to focus on my game and make as much birdie as I could, and then just see the end.”
The LPGA held its first event in Malaysia since 2017. Its purse of $3m is the biggest on the tour for non-majors. Boutier’s victory brought her total for the season to $2,730.340. She earned $450,000.
Thitikul shot a sensational score of 62, which included a 30-point back nine on Saturday. The Thai sensation has not won a single tournament this season. However, she started to trend in the right directions with a tie for second at the Ascendant LPGA Texas earlier this month. She tied for fifth place in South Korea last week.
Boutier has now won more titles this season than anyone else on the tour, including World No. Lilia Vu, the World No. 1, is second with three. Boutier won her first major in the Amundi Evian Championship, held on home turf over the summer. Boutier is now three points in front of Vu on the LPGA Player of the year standings after her victory in Malaysia. The LPGA has three more events on its schedule for this year.
IT WAS WORTH WAITING FOR! @celineboutier’s winning putt on the ninth playoff hole.
pic.twitter.com/ktThJNKJpC
LPGA (@LPGA October 29, 2023
Boutier will then return to her U.S. residence in Dallas, Texas to prepare for Florida’s final two events. The former Duke star, when asked what has been working for her lately, pointed to her approach shots.
She said that she had improved her score today because of the improvement in her putter.
