Hannah Green held off a sensational finishing burst from Celine Boutier to clinch a dramatic victory at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.
Boutier birdied five of the last seven holes to complete a six under par 66 in the final round, and set the clubhouse target at 18 under.
Green was on the same mark with two holes to play, and needed to find some inspiration after two birdies and two bogeys had left her on the same mark as Boutier.
But the Australian star hit a superb approach at the par four 17th and rolled in the five footer for what proved to be the winning birdie.
It was still far from plain sailing even after Green hit her approach to twenty feet at the last - she knocked her first putt three and a half feet past the flag, and had to hole a knee-knocker to clinch victory.
But she was up to the task, and a closing 71 earned the world No 8 her third LPGA Tour win of the season, and a cheque for $330,000.
The first of those wins was also achieved in the far east, when Green captured the HSBC Women’s World Championship title in March.
Boutier also finished runner-up in that event, and she finished just one off the lead on that occasion as well.
But she had nothing to reproach herself for, after starting the final round six shots back and throwing everything at her rival over the closing stretch. She earned $207,516 for second place.
Before France’s world No 10 produced that flying finish, it looked like Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand might be the player to deny Green a wire-to-wrie succes.
Wannasaen was on fire on the front nine, covering that stretch in just 30 shots - just as she did when she claimed her maiden LPGA Tour victory at the Portland Classic last year.
🎯🎯🎯@hannahgreengolf with a beautiful approach to birdie 17 and take the lead by one with one hole remaining! pic.twitter.com/tZIMnYB2oDOctober 20, 2024
Her six under par score for the opening nine included an eagle on the par four fifth, where she holed an eight iron from 142 yards.
But this time her effort stalled on the back nine. Bogeys at ten and 17 meant she had to settle for a closing 68, and third place on 17 under.
Korean duo Hye-Jin Choi and Yu Jin Sung shared fourth a further shot back. A third Korean golfer, Haeran Ryu, finished in joint sixth place with Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa.
It was a brilliant tournament, slightly soured by the fact it took the last few groups a painful six and a quarter hours to finish their final rounds. Playing in three-balls that is nothing short of shocking.
