Bright start for Celine Boutier boosts French hopes

GUYANCOURT – France’s Celine Boutier delighted the home crowd by taking the first-round lead at the Olympic women’s golf competition on Aug 7, with her slick putting setting her apart from some of her rivals who toiled on a tricky course south of Paris.

Treated to a rendition of the Marseillaise by excited French fans as she teed off, the world No. 7 and 2023 Evian Championship winner kept her cool to notch up eight birdies and a lone bogey to post a seven-under 65.

Singapore’s Shannon Tan, meanwhile, posted a six-over 78 to share 50th with six others.

“It was easy to be carried away by the emotions and all that, and it was nice to see so many people, but it’s true that afterwards I had to really focus,” said Boutier, who was born in France to Thai parents.

The 30-year-old said her putting went as well as she could have wanted, with the pick of her scoring shots an 18-foot chip from off the green into the 16th hole to take her to seven under.

Playing alongside Boutier, American world No. 2 Lilia Vu revelled in the atmosphere and was pleased with a two-under 70 that put her in tied-third place.

“This is really fun for me. I mean, they’re cheering for me too, so I’m trying to keep up with Celine,” she joked.

Boutier is seeking to outdo Victor Perez, who thrilled French fans with a dazzling final round on Aug 4 to take fourth place in the men’s competition.

The women’s tournament will follow the same format as the men’s contest won by American Scottie Scheffler, with 60 participants teeing off for a 72-hole, stroke-play contest over four days at Le Golf National.

Other early leaders included South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai, second at four under, and Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, who will retire after the Paris Games, part of a four-way tie for third place at two under.

Tokyo gold medallist Nelly Korda, the world No. 1, shot a level-par round of 72 after recovering from three early bogeys, with the American, like others, saying the greens were tricky to read.

“Overall, it just took a little bit to adjust but I adjusted well on the back nine,” she said.

Britain’s Charley Hull was near the bottom of the leaderboard with a nine-over round.

The world No. 11 put her performance down to rustiness after a shoulder injury, brushing off the idea that an Olympic ban on smoking had disadvantaged the player known for puffing on courses.

Perrine Delacour, France’s other representative, said the emotion of hitting the first tee shot drained her and contributed to a disappointing seven-over. REUTERS