Tag: malaysia

France’s Celine Boutier wins again on LPGA after nine-hole playoff battle in Malaysia

The winningest French player in LPGA history, Boutier now has four titles this season, including a major.

Celine Boutier survived a marathon nine-hole playoff at the Maybank Championship, ultimately defeating Atthaya Thitikul with 6-foot birdie putt. The winningest French player in LPGA history, Boutier now has four titles this season, including a major.

“I knew she wasn’t going to make a mistake,” said Boutier, “so I had to go for it and give myself the best chances for birdies.”

The playoff, which included a 90-minute storm delay, is the 12th on tour this season. Boutier also claimed her first victory of the season in overtime, defeating Solheim Cup partner Georgia Hall at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain in Arizona.

The longest playoff in LPGA history came in 1972 at the Corpus Christi Civitan Open when Jo Ann Prentice defeated Sandra Palmer and Kathy Whitworth in 10 holes. At the 2012 Kingsmill Championship, Jiyai Shin took down Paula Creamer in nine extra holes, with the final hole coming Monday morning.

“It’s exhausting,” said Thitikul of the steamy overtime. “It’s pretty tiring, to be honest. But I think it’s the best playoff I ever had in my life.”

Celine Boutier of France and Atthaya Thitikul walk on the 18th fairway in a playoff eighth hole during the final round of the Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on October 29, 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

American Rose Zhang held the lead going into the final round, but her closing 71 put her in a share of third with early leader Jasmine Suwannapura.

“I think for me, it’s just important to understand what my routine is,” said Zhang of her takeaways on the week, “and I realized what’s been working for me, what I have to work on. Short game definitely much-needed practice. Almost felt like I was yipping it out there.

“But I really just am really happy that I have those kind of improving points to work on. Kind of makes me hopeful for whatever is to come.”

Boutier surged up the board with a bogey-free 64 on Sunday to finish at 21 under for the tournament. Thitikul shot 68 in the final round at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to match her.

“Coming into the day, it was a long shot,” said Boutier. “I was quite a few shots back, and I also knew this course was pretty scorable, so I wasn’t sure what the leaders are going to be like, but I was just trying to focus on my own game and make as many birdies as I could and just see at the end.”

This marked the LPGA’s first tournament in Malaysia since 2017 and the purse of $3 million is one of the largest on tour among non-majors. Boutier earned $450,000 for her victory, bringing her season total to $2,730,340.

Thitikul climbed her way into position with a sensational 62 on Saturday that included a back-nine 30. Winless so far this season, the Thai sensation started trending in the right direction with a share of second earlier this month at the Ascendant LPGA in Texas. Last week she tied for fifth in South Korea.

Boutier now has more titles than anyone on tour this season, with World No. 1 Lilia Vu coming second with three. Over the summer, Boutier collected her first major on home soil at the Amundi Evian Championship. The victory in Malaysia moves her atop the LPGA Player of the Year standings, three points ahead of Vu. There are three events left on the LPGA schedule this season.

Boutier next heads to her U.S. home in Dallas to prepare for the last two events of the season in Florida. When asked what’s been clicking for her of late, the former Duke star pointed to her approach shots.

“Not just today, actually, just the whole week,” she said, “I had a lot of tap-ins for birdies and good birdie chances, and I feel like my putter started getting better and better each round, so that definitely helped to score better today.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1373]

LPGA announces return to Malaysia with new Maybank Championship, featuring $3 million purse

The event replaces the Taiwan event that was canceled.

The LPGA has announced a return to Malaysia in 2023 for the inaugural Maybank Championship, which will take place Oct. 26-29 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. The event replaces the Taiwan event that was canceled.

The 78-player field will compete for a $3 million purse, one of the largest non-major championship purses on the schedule. Maybank is the fourth-largest bank by asset in Southeast Asia and boasts 42,000 employees worldwide.

“The LPGA is excited to bring women’s professional golf back to Malaysia for the first time in six years thanks to Maybank’s incredible support,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan in a statement.

“The LPGA and Maybank’s shared values around elevating and empowering women make this an important partnership for us in this region of the world. Maybank is further demonstrating their commitment to women and our athletes by providing the largest prize fund of our Asian events and a world-class environment.”

Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club hosted the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia from 2010-2017, which included winners Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda and Shanshan Feng, who was a two-time winner of the event. Cristie Kerr earned the 20th victory of her career in the event’s final playing.

“Over the years, Maybank Championship has successfully achieved its main intent of elevating ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) on a global stage in sports,” said Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Maybank during the launch at KLGCC.

“Now, we see that the way forward in the evolution is to champion inclusivity of the sport in the region.”

The new event is part of a four-tournament fall Asian swing that includes stops in China, South Korea and Japan. The event that was scheduled to take place in China during the LPGA’s spring Asian swing was also canceled.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=]

Michelle Yeoh’s family and friends in Malaysia had the best reaction to her Oscar win

Michelle Yeoh’s family and friends had the BEST reaction to her winning the Oscar.

Michelle Yeoh’s Best Actress win at Sunday night’s 95th Academy Awards sparked a wonderful celebration from her family in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

After she won the Oscar for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh delivered an inspiring speech talking about her career.

Well, a watch party being held for her in Malaysia erupted in celebration after Yeoh’s big win. The Oscar winner’s family and friends, including Yeoh’s mother, were in attendance and looked so overjoyed for what the actor had accomplished.

Everything Everywhere All at Once had the best night of any film at this year’s Oscars, and this video just shows how far-reaching the film’s success really was.

It’s hard not to feel incredibly moved by the reaction here, particularly when you compare it to the rapturous response the film’s win got at the ceremony.

If you’re ever up for an Academy Award, make sure you have a cheering section like this waiting for you at home.