Agencies
Paris
Celine Boutier from Paris delighted the home fans and holds a three-shot lead after the first round of the Olympic women’s golf competition at Le Golf National at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday.
The 2023 Amundi Evian Championship winner produced a seven-under 65 to top the 60-athlete leaderboard ahead of South African Ashleigh Buhai, the 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion.
Jabra Ladies Open champion Morgane Metraux from Switzerland, Colombian Mariajo Uribe, the 2023 AIG Women’s Open champion Lilia Vu and Mexican Gaby Lopez are tied for third on two-under-par.
Six players share seventh place, a stroke further back: Norway’s Celine Borge, China’s Xiyu Lin, Indian’s Diksha Dagar, Australian Minjee Lee, Japan’s Miya Yamashita and Canadian Alena Sharp.
After a slow start that saw her bogey three of her opening seven holes, world No. 1 Nelly Korda recovered well to kick off her gold medal defence at Le Golf National with an even-par 72 for a 13-way share of 13th place.
Boutier made three front-nine birdies before back-to-back gains after the turn saw her move into the solo lead. After finding a fairway bunker off the tee at the 12th, the 30-year-old dropped her lone shot of the day on the par 4.
But that only appeared to refocus her mind as she then reeled off three consecutive birdies from the 14th through to the 16th, highlighted by a chip-in at the par-3 16th hole. The French star then parred the final two holes before receiving a great ovation from the waves of fans assembled around the 18th green.
"It can always be better with golf. But, no, I’m really over the moon with the way the tournament started for me. Definitely wasn’t sure what to expect today, but I was able to take advantage of a few opportunities out there, so I definitely feel good about my round and hopefully keep going for the next few days,” Boutier said, adding that the amount of support and attention was a little out of her comfort zone. (ladieseuropeantour.com)
