France’s Celine Boutier recovered from a four-stroke deficit to shoot a 5-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Arpichaya Yubol at the ShopRite LPGA on Sunday, while Ireland’s Lauren Walsh finished third.
Soobin Joo, a 22-year-old Korean seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, lost a four-shot lead at the turn and fell behind forever on the 13th hole, the same hole where Boutier earlier took the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt.
Mr. Joo missed another right fairway and fell into a rough lie, pitched back to the fairway, sent a wedge over the green with the front pin, missed the putt 8 feet to the side of the hole, committed a double bogey, and fell 3 strokes behind.
Boutier continued to hit solid shots and rarely had any trouble. She missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish 9 under par overall for the 54-hole tournament.
“It’s definitely very special to have the opportunity to win today,” said Boutier, 32, a French athlete who won the same event five years ago.
“I think this is a great tournament. It’s very special for me. I’m really happy to get another win here.”
Yubol, who was penalized one stroke for exceeding the maximum in Saturday’s second round, birdied the final two holes for a 66. It was her second runner-up finish this year, after finishing four strokes behind Nelly Korda in Mexico.
Walsh, 25, finished third with a final round 67, and Joo tied for fourth among the four players. Ireland had two players in the top 10, with Leona Maguire tied for 9th at 4 under.
Boutier finished the front nine with two consecutive birdies to get to 7 under par, and she took the lead when Joo bogeyed the par-4 eighth. Boutier got to 4 feet for birdie on the 10th. Mr. Joo caught up with her with a birdie on the 9th hole, but was unable to catch up until the end.
Celine Boutier holds the trophy after winning
Boutier currently holds seven career LPGA titles and 12 world titles. She has struggled so far this year, finishing tied for ninth in 10 tournaments.
“I feel like my game has turned around over the past few weeks. I could see it coming together and I never expected it to come together this week and today,” she said. “But I’m very happy to be back in the winner’s circle.”
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