Celine Boutier cruised to a maiden major championship victory at the Evian Championship, becoming the first Frenchwoman to win the event since it gained major status more than a decade ago.
It was a dream start for Solheim Cup star Boutier, who rolled in back-to-back birdies on her opening two holes at Evian Resort, before adding another birdie on the fifth to make the turn at -3 and extend her advantage at the top of the leaderboard.
Despite a dropped shot on 13, the local hero bounced back with a birdie on 15 and was able to walk up 18 and make her par to seal victory with a total of 14-under-par.
“It was definitely not easy,” said Boutier. “But the conditions were so tough I felt like it could go either way really fast, so I just tried to stay focused on each shot and hole at a time. It was pretty challenging with the wind.
“The start was pretty unexpected. I definitely felt like I handled the first few holes really well. I had a good opportunity on one and the putt on two was definitely a bonus.
“In golf, you can always play better. I definitely feel like I was very steady with all four rounds, which is very positive. Especially with the tougher conditions, I’m very satisfied with my level and with my game this week.”
This is the second win on home soil for Boutier in two years after she won the 2021 Lacoste Ladies Open de France, and joins Catherine LaCoste and Patricia Meunier-Lebouc as French major championship winners.
“It honestly has been my biggest dream ever since I started watching golf,” she said. “This tournament has always been very special to me, even watching as a teenager. To be able to hold this trophy is pretty unbelievable.
“To have my family here made it even better. I feel like they definitely helped me this week to stay grounded and keep my mind off of golf off the golf course. It’s really sweet to be able to share it with them and I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Leona Maguire, who’d started the day eight back, capped off a rather frustrating week with a four-over 75. Largely out of the running as far as the victory was concerned, another major top-10 was a very realistic possibility for the Cavan star who lay tied for 14th after 54 holes.
Despite an early birdie, she’d make the turn at +1 before carding a quadruple bogey at the par-4 10th and end the week tied for 42nd.
Stephanie Meadow rounded out the event with a two-under 69 that saw the Jordanstown woman climb eight places on the leaderboard to a tie for 61st.
Brooke Henderson, who won the Championship in 2022, took solo second place after a closing round of 70.
The Canadian star had three birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard at Evian to produce the best finish by a defending champion.
“I love coming here to France,” said Henderson. “The atmosphere, the people are amazing. This course is so beautiful and a lot of fun to play. I feel like we have a good strategy for it now, which is exciting. To finish I think T2 this year is amazing after coming off the win last year. I’m really proud of that. Celine played amazing, so really happy for her too.
“It feels great to be back in contention on the final groups in the weekend on a major championship. That’s all you can really ask for. I feel like the game has been trending for a while so nice to see some good results.”
Five players finished the week in a share of third place with Norway’s Celine Borge, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, Japanese duo Yuka Saso and Nasa Hataoka and Korea’s A Lim Kim on seven-under-par.
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