GOLF ROUNDUP
Green takes LPGA event
Hannah Green made a stunning 30-foot birdie at the final hole to clinch a one-stroke victory over Celine Boutier at the LPGA Tour's HSBC Women's World Championship on Sunday in Singapore. Green made six birdies, three of which came in the final three holes, against one bogey in a final round 67 for a 13-under-par 275 at Sentosa Golf Club. It was the 27-year-old Australian's fourth LPGA title, and first since the JM Eagle LA Championship last year.
"I knew on the greens I needed to be aggressive and make sure I got the putt past the hole versus leaving them short,” said Green after her dramatic finish.
Boutier (67), who had said on Saturday she was attending Taylor Swift's Singapore concert as “a nice way to relax” for the final round, seemed destined to win on Sunday as she pulled two strokes clear in the final stages only for Green to produce some magic of her own to take the win.
The 30-year-old Frenchwoman, who won four titles last season including wins at the Women's Scottish Open and the Evian Championship for her first major title, finished at 12 under-par-276.
“I think I played a lot better than yesterday which was really positive. I feel like I made some putts and I gave myself a lot of chances," said Boutier. "So I'm very satisfied with my round and it was great to even have a thought of making it a playoff.” Yuna Nishimura (66) had the equal-best round of the day as her six birdies in a blemish free final round lifted her to 9-under 279 and into a four-way tie for third with Brooke Henderson (68), Mi Hyang Lee (67) and Nasa Hataoka (69). Overnight leader Ayaka Furue of Japan had a disappointing round of 3-over Sunday as she slipped to a tie for eighth at 7-under 288 in the 66-player, no-cut tournament.
Also tied for eighth was two-time defending champion Jin Young Ko (71) and Patty Tavatanakit (67), who won last week's LPGA event in Thailand.
Lydia Ko, who has 20 career wins, including two majors, shot 72 for a total of 1-over 289 and finished in a tie for 34th.
Two-time major winner Lilia Vu, who was tied for second after the first round, withdrew during the final round due to illness.
Niemann wins LIV in Saudi Arabia
Joaquin Niemann won his second LIV Golf title in three starts, closing with a 4-under 66 at LIV Golf Jeddah for a four-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Niemann now has three wins in the last three months, starting with the Australian Open victory in December that allowed him to rejoin the European tour and eventually put him on the path toward getting invited to the Masters.
Niemann started his third season on the Saudi-funded league by opening with a 59 at Mayakoba and winning in a playoff over Sergio Garcia. Now he soars to the top of the points list with another win ahead of next week's LIV event in Hong Kong. "We've got another week to come," Niemann said. "I told myself I can win these three weeks I'm playing. So next week and see what happens."
He finished third in an Asian Tour event in Oman last week.
No one got closer than two shots of Niemann in the final round at Royal Greens. Oosthuizen was the last challenger until a bogey on the 16th hole. He shot 67, while Schwartzel had a 68.
Niemann also took a dig at the world ranking in his interview with LIV's broadcast team. He was asked if he was one of the leading favorites to win a major this year.
"How is that possible? I'm like 100 in the world," Niemann said with a grin.
Niemann is No. 72 in the world. The Official World Golf Ranking, in a vote cast by the organizations that run the majors, chose not to award LIV ranking points because of the small field (54 players) that functions as a closed shop with no qualifying.