France’s Celine Boutier defeated England’s Georgia Hall with a birdie on the first hole of the playoff Sunday to win the LPGA Drive on Championship in Arizona. Boutier forced the playoff after a birdie on the 18th hole, par 5, to sign a card of 68 strokes, four under par, equaling Hall (65) in 20 under and 268 totals.
The Spanish finally ended up far behind. Azahara Muñoz from Malaga finished tied 39th with laps of 67, 70, 71 and 69 for 277 (-11) while Carlota Ciganda from Navarre was tied 62nd with 67, 72, 71 and 70 for 280 (-8).
Celine Boutier, results
Playing the 18th hole again, neither Boutier nor I Hall found the green with her second shot. Boutier, chipping from almost the same spot she played on the regulation hole to the right of the green, dropped the ball five feet from the pin.
Meanwhile, Hall sent her second shot into a greenside bunker, knocked the ball away from the pin and failed to convert her birdie attempt. Boutier had mixed feelings facing Hall, a former Solheim Cup teammate, in a playoff.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling because you obviously want to win, but at the same time I think she’s an incredible player. She’s a really good friend of mine,” he said. the gala. With her victory, Boutier, 29, captured her third title on the LPGA Tour and became the winningest French player on the circuit, surpassing Patricia Meunier-Lebouc and Anne-Marie Palli.
She previously won the ISPS Handa Vic Open in 2019 and the ShopRite Classic in 2021. Final classification -20 Celine Boutier (Fra) 69 66 65 68 Georgia Hall (Eng) 68 67 68 65 -19 Ayaka Furue (Japan) 68 69 67 65 -18 Narin An (Cds) 67 67 69 67 -17 Ally Ewing (USA) 71 67 66 67 Jin-Young Ko (Cds) 70 65 68 68 -16 Charley Hull (Eng) 71 66 66 69 Moriya Jutanugarn (Tha) 67 65 69 71 Stacy Lewis (USA) 68 68 69 67 …
-11 Azahara Muñoz (Esp/39ª) 67 70 71 69 -8 Carlota Ciganda ESp/62º) 67 72 71 70
