Celine Boutier had an explosive performance on Wednesday in the first round of the women’s golf competition at the 2024 Olympics.
She closed with a 7-under 65 that included eight birdies and one bogey. In true Boutier fashion, she felt the round could have been better, but was still pleased with the result.
“I’m really happy with how the tournament started,” Boutier said. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to go today, but I was able to take advantage of some opportunities. I’m happy with my round and hopefully I can continue that good form over the next few days.”
Because the Olympics were being held in her native France, the crowds were huge, which meant there was plenty of support for her.
She welcomed it but said it was a challenge because the typical LGPA crowd is quite different to the Olympics.
“It’s different than what you normally experience on the LPGA, so it’s nice to have all this support,” she explained.
Boutier experienced the atmosphere of the men’s tournament first-hand last weekend and made some smart plays ahead of the tournament.
“Just being able to watch the men’s round and the tee shots and stuff like that helped me, first of all,” Boutier said. “Seeing the support they got and the crowd and it just helped me prepare for today and the rest of the week.”
Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP, Getty Images
“It’s difficult, but I try to concentrate on my game. The course is very tough, so I have to concentrate on my game. I can’t look around and laugh with the crowd. It’s nice to have people cheering for me, but I have to concentrate.”
For the most part, the French woman seemed grateful for people’s affection, even though she’s not used to crowds.
“Yeah, it’s been good. It’s been a little tough for me at times,” she said. “It’s just nice to see so many people excited about golf.”
She is from Boutier The putter turned red.The 30-year-old made a number of long birdie putts throughout the round, including a 123-foot putt.
Six of her eight birdies came from at least 16 feet, 10 inches. Boutier led the field with a putting strokes gained of +4.860.
“I thought my putting was pretty consistent today,” she said. “I tried to be a little aggressive with my speed and it worked out well. A lot of my putts were on the line, but a little short or a little too fast. When I had the speed, the putts went in.”
“I was feeling pretty good and that helped me. I don’t think I hit it that close, but I was within range to get a birdie chance, a birdie run, so I think I took advantage of that.”
Boutier is three strokes ahead of Ashley Buhai of South Africa, who shot a 4-under 68. There are also four players tied for third at 2-under.
She will face world No. 2 Lilia Vu and South Korea’s Amy Yang in the first two rounds. The second round starts at 3:55 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
