“I know I shot 65, but I left a lot of shots out there.”
Charley Hull returned to action in Malaysia after a month off and finished in style. The popular English player closed with a bogey-free 65 at the Maybank Championship on the strength of a back-nine 30. Hull made four consecutive birdies on Sunday over Nos. 11-14 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
“I know I shot 65, but I left a lot of shots out there,” said Hull, “especially on my back nine; missed few putts.”
Hull has enjoyed a strong stretch since she slipped in the shower and injured her right shoulder in July. In her last five starts on the LPGA, she hasn’t finished outside the top 20. Not to mention the 6-and-4 drumming of Nelly Korda in Sunday singles at the Solheim Cup.
After a T-19 at the Kroger Queen City in September, Hull headed back to England to recharge.
“I just love being at home,” said the 28-year-old. “I love being with my boyfriend. I just love England. I seriously love England. When I come away I get really homesick, so I’m so excited to go home. I’m in Saudi next week and then I’m home for a week.”
Charley Hull of England smokes on the 9th hole during the second round of the Maybank Championship 2024 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on October 25, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Hull, who became a Golf Saudi ambassador this year, will compete at Riyadh Golf Club in Saudi Arabia Oct. 31-Nov. 2 in the conclusion of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF on the Ladies European Tour.
From there, she’ll head back to England for a week off before coming to the U.S. for the last two events in Florida.
“I like the Tour Championship,” said Hull of the CME Group Tour Championship Naples, which she won in 2016. “Obviously I like the golf course the week before as well (The Annika’s Pelican Golf Club in Belleair).
“I’m excited to be on that plane home to spend Christmas at home.”
She currently ranks 152nd in putts per greens in regulation on the season but is trending.
Bailey Tardy won her first LPGA title this season but was in danger of not qualifying for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. It’s been a rough road for Tardy since she broke through at the 2024 Blue Bay LPGA back in March.
But that’s beginning to change.
Georgia’s Tardy carded a final-round 65, her best round since the Blue Bay, to finish in a share of fourth at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia. The 28-year-old suffered 13 missed cuts and a withdrawal after that victory.
“I putted really well today,” said Tardy of her turnaround on the greens. “I’ve been struggling with that all year and so really the last three weeks my putting has been coming together, so pretty proud of that.”
Tardy ranked 16th in the field in putting when she won the Blue Bay and then ranked 100th in her next event. The trend continued as Tardy frequently ranked outside the top 100 in the field each week in putts per green in regulation. That began to turn during the Asian swing, where she was ranked 30th in putting in Shanghai two weeks ago and 13th at the Maybank.
She currently ranks 152nd in putts per greens in regulation on the season.
Bailey Tardy of the United States attempts a putt on the 18th greenduring the third round of the Maybank Championship 2024 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on October 26, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
As for the CME, Tardy made great strides in Malaysia. She jumped from 65th on the points list to 50th. The top 60 players get in the field. The purse at the Naples, Florida, event will be $11 million, with a record-setting $4 million going to the winner.
Tardy, who won’t play next week in Japan, leaves the fall Asian swing trending in a positive direction.
“I’m excited to go home and see my dog,” she said, “just be home.”
The 22-year-old outdueled Jeeno Thitikul down the stretch at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia to earn her fifth LPGA win. One of those wins was with Thitikul as Yin’s partner earlier this year at the Dow Championship.
With her win, Yin earns $450,000. This season, she has earned $2,397,966 and is up to $5,462,783 in her career.
Here’s a look at the prize money payouts for each player at the 2024 Maybank Championship from a purse of $3 million.
No one is playing as well as Ruoning Yin during the LPGA’s Asian Swing.
No one is playing as well as Ruoning Yin during the LPGA’s Asian Swing.
The 22-year-old from China won the 2024 Maybank Championship on Sunday, her second win in three starts. Two weeks ago, she claimed the title at her hometown event in Shanghai. This week, she earned her fifth LPGA victory at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
“I would say at Buick second round when I fix my driver, I know I’m able to win,” said Yin. “I will have a chance to win every week, I would say.”
Yin, who went bogey-free her last three rounds, shot 7-under 65 on Sunday, one stroke better than Jeeno Thitikul to beat her by a shot. Yin had seven birdies in the final round, but her birdie on the par-5 18th secured the win, finishing at 23 under for the week.
“I really, really appreciated Haeran (Ryu) and Jeeno,” said Yin. “They bring the best out of me.”
Yin teamed up with her good friend Thitikul to win the Dow Championship earlier this season.
“She play incredible golf here four rounds, so that’s – the trophy belong someone who did less mistake,” said Thitikul.
With her win, Yin earns $450,000, and she has earned $2,397,966 this season and $5,462,783 in her career.
“I would say this season so far I learn a lot,” said Yin, a two-time winner in 2023, including a major. “I would say my mental is next level I would say, because early this year I was really stressed because I had really good year last year, and early this year I think I put too many pressure on myself thinking about if I can win again or not.
“And after Mizuho, I think I got hurt Mizuho week, and after that I realized that I really love golf. I really like to play on this tour, play with all my friends, and I just really wanted to enjoy my life, enjoy play on the course.”
Yin’s next start will be The Annika in Belleair, Florida.
Play was suspended on Friday due to dangerous conditions.
A string of four consecutive birdies midway through Maja Stark’s second round gave the 24-year-old Swede a slim lead at the 2024 Maybank Championship in steamy Malaysia. Stark posted a second consecutive 6-under 66 to move to 12 under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Marina Alex, Narin An, Wei-Ling Hsu and Haeran Ryu.
“I’ve been struggling a bit with my putting this whole year,” said Stark, “but I feel like I really had an easier time seeing the lines here than I usually do.”
With three top-10s this season, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Chevron Championship and JM Eagle LA Championship last spring, Stark holds the second-round lead for only the second time in her brief LPGA career.
Maja Stark sits atop of the leaderboard after a round for the first time in 337 days. pic.twitter.com/doBVa0Nvpi
Play at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club was suspended on Friday due to dangerous conditions at 2:10 p.m. local time and resumed at 4:10 p.m.
“We ran up 18 because we saw the clouds surrounding us,” said Stark, “and looking outside, I’m happy we did run.”
Rookie Gabi Ruffels carded a 66 to move into solo eighth. Ruffels is now two weeks into her first fall Asian swing as an LPGA member. She has four top 10s in 21 starts this season.
“I feel like at the start of the year there were a lot of, I guess, one-week breaks and not a lot of I guess two-, three-week breaks. I feel like it’s kind of been a little bit better towards the second half of the year,” said Ruffels of her schedule.
“But I feel like traveling across Asia is never easy as well. I feel like in those moments you kind of have to tell yourself how lucky you are to be doing what you’re doing, and we get to be in Malaysia, Korea last week and Japan next week. It’s pretty cool what we do.
“You know, when times get tough I just remind myself that we’re so lucky.”
Ting is a two-time winner already this fall for the Seminoles.
Mirabel Ting won’t ever forget her first round on the LPGA. The Florida State junior opened with a 5-under 67 at the Maybank Championship on home soil in Malaysia. Ting, the only amateur in the field, trails leader Mao Saigo by four shots after the Japanese rookie opened with a brilliant 9-under 63 that include one bogey.
“Shooting 5 under on this challenging golf course is something that I would never thought I would be able to do it in front of a big crowd,” said Ting, a two-time winner already this fall for the Seminoles. Ting currently ranks eighth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
A rookie has yet to win on the LPGA this season, but Saigo sits atop the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings on the strength of seven top-10 finishes.
“I made a lot of middle length putt,” said the 23-year-old Saigo, “so that’s why I play really well.”
Saigo has a pair of runner-up finishes in 2024 at the CPKC Women’s Open and the Buick LPGA Shanghai. She’s a six-time winner on the JLPGA.
South Korea’s Haeran Ryu sits alone in second place in Malaysia. This is Ryu’s 31st round in the 60s this season. (Saigo leads the tour with 33.) She was one of five players to post a bogey-free round at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on Thursday, joining Wei-Ling Hsu, Celine Boutier, Hye-Jin Choi and Gaby Lopez.
“I don’t remember my play today because today my body feels not good,” said Ryu, “so I just want a good finish.”
Ting is one of four Malaysian players in the field.
Florida State standout Mirabel Ting makes her LPGA debut this week on home soil at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A two-time winner already this fall, Ting currently ranks eighth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“This is my first LPGA event and probably the biggest one in my entire golfing career,” said Ting. “It’s something that it’s at home as well and I’m able to play in front of my friend and family, which is going to mean a lot. Especially my grandfather is coming back up from Miri to come and watch me play this week. So that’s really sweet.”
Mirabel Ting of Malaysia plays her shot from the first tee during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Ting, one of four Malaysian players in the field, is the highest-ranked Malaysian amateur and the only amateur in the field of 78. The no-cut event will be held at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s West Course. This marks the third stop on the LPGA’s fall Asian swing.
“I think this is probably the third time that I played this golf course,” said Ting. “I played the other golf course, the East golf course a lot of times, but I have barely played the West.”
An exceptionally strong ball-striker, Ting spends most of her time at Florida State working on her short game.
“I don’t have any weaknesses on my long game because I strike the ball quite OK,” said Ting when asked about her preparations for this week. “I’m fine from tee to fairway and fairway to green. So it’s just a little bit of missing the greens and making up and downs and keep the putter rolling.”
At last year’s Maybank, Celine Boutier defeated Jeeno Thitikul in a nine-hole playoff, tying the longest playoff in LPGA history. Both players are in the field along with the tour’s most recent winners, Hannah Green (BMW Ladies Championship) and Ruoning Yin (Buick LPGA).
It pays to play well on the LPGA, just ask Celine Boutier.
The 29-year-old took down Atthaya Thitikul via a marathon nine-hole playoff to win the 2023 Maybank Championship in Malaysia for her fourth victory of the season and sixth of her LPGA career.
For her efforts, Boutier took home the top prize of $450,000, while Thitikul earned $275,072. Boutier has earned $2,730,340 on the season and leads the LPGA race to CME Globe with the CME Group Tour Championship (Nov. 16-19) at Tiburon Golf Club less than a month away.
Check out the prize money payouts for each professional player at the 2023 Maybank Championship (Note: amateurs cannot make money at professional events).
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.”
Zhang is hunting down her second LPGA win in 12 pro starts.
Budding superstar Rose Zhang shot her second 7-under 65 of the week Saturday and holds the solo 54-hole lead at 18 under at the LPGA’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
After a par at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s opening hole, Zhang birdied Nos. 2-4 to jumpstart her third round. Two more birdies at Nos. 7 and 9, and Zhang made the turn in 5-under 31. A birdie at No. 10 was offset by a bogey on 14, but she finished her round with two more circles at 15 and 18.
“I feel really great. I just feel like being able to have this opportunity to come into the final round with a little bit of a lead is really great,” Zhang told the media after signing her card.
“I think that going forward it’s just making sure I’m having fun, having that game plan, and enjoying every simple moment.”
Zhang, who went 0-3-1 during her Solheim Cup debut in Spain, has failed to finish inside the top 25 in her last six starts (T-34 at the BMW Ladies Championship in her last appearance). If she goes on to win, it’d be her second LPGA win in 12 professional starts.
Atthaya Thitikul and Jasmine Suwannapura are tied for second a shot behind Zhang at 17 under while Sei Young Kim is alone in fourth at 15 under. Nasa Hataoka, Megan Khang and Peiyun Chien round out the top five at 14 under.
