Frenchwoman Celine Boutier has taken a giant stride towards player-of-the-year honours with an epic playoff victory for her fourth win in a golden LPGA season.
The final-round Australian charge never materialised as Boutier denied Thai prodigy Atthaya Thitikul in a dramatic and near-record-setting sudden-death playoff at the $US3 million ($A4.7 million) Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
It took a birdie from Boutier on Sunday's ninth extra hole to see off Thitikul, the precocious youngster who reached world No.1 last year as a teenager.