Oct 21,2024
Australian Hannah Green carded a crucial birdie at the 17th and finished with a 71, good enough to hold off a pair of hard-charging competitors to capture the BMW Ladies Championship in a wire-to-wire win in windy Paju, South Korea.
She entered the final round at Seowon Hills course at Seowon Valley Country Club at 18-under par and with a two-stroke lead but was tied with Thailand's Chanettee Wannasaen as she made the turn onto the back nine.
Wannasaen, who began Sunday five shots back, narrowed the gap on the front nine, with four birdies and an eagle to finish the front nine with a 6-under par 30 and move to 19-under.
Green also made the turn at 19-under after two birdies and a bogey.
But Wannasaen couldn't maintain her momentum on the back side, with two bogeys to finish the round at 68 and at 17-under for the tournament.
That didn't mean Green, who was seeking her third win of the season, could cruise to the title.
France's Celine Boutier shot the day's low round (66), making a charge on the back nine with five birdies in the final seven holes to take the clubhouse lead at 18-under 270 for the tournament.
A bogey on the par-5 No. 11 dropped Green to 18-under, and she played the next five holes at even par as Boutier watched from the clubhouse. Green's second shot on the par-4 17th rolled to just a few feet from the pin, giving her a makeable putt to record a birdie. A par on the 18 gave Green her sixth career win and left Boutier in second place and Wannasaen in third.
"Yeah, it was a crazy finish, I guess," Green said. "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. But the putt on17, 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 yeah, 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. Yeah, it was tough. I haven't experienced a wind direction change like that before."
Green joins Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko as the only women with at least three wins in 2024.
