PAJU: Hannah Green of Australia emerged victorious at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea, securing her third LPGA Tour win of the 2024 season with a decisive birdie in the final moments of the tournament. Green’s victory at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju was marked by a one-under 71 finish, culminating in a 19-under total score, just one stroke ahead of France’s Celine Boutier.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Boutier set the bar high with a bogey-free 66, finishing at 18-under. Green, however, managed to clinch the lead with a birdie on the par-4 17th hole and maintained her advantage with a par on the final hole, earning her a winner’s check of US$330,000. This win makes Green the third player this year with at least three victories on the LPGA Tour and the first Australian to achieve such a feat since Karrie Webb in 2006.
Green, who was either leading or tied for the lead throughout the tournament, described the competition as intense. “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 stated. “But the putt on 17, I was very nervous. I was just very happy to see that one go in.”
South Korean golfers Choi Hye-jin and Sung Yu-jin both tied for fourth at 16-under. While Choi delivered a strong performance with a 67, Sung, an LPGA rookie who started the final day in second place, ended with an even 72 after two birdies and two bogeys. Other South Korean players also performed well, with Ryu Hae-ran tying for sixth at 15-under and Lim Jin-hee tying for eighth at 14-under.
The BMW Ladies Championship, inaugurated in 2019, marked its fifth edition this year, having skipped 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous winners include South Koreans Jang Hana and Ko Jin-young, as well as players of Korean descent, Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Minjee Lee of Australia, for the 2022 and 2023 events, respectively.