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DURHAM – Sunday, March 26, 2023 will go down as a special day for the Duke women’s golf program as a pair of Blue Devil alumnae won on the LPGA and Epson Tours with Celine Boutier and Miranda Wang carding victories on the West Coast.
Boutier, a 2016 Duke graduate, won in a playoff at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Gold Canyon, Ariz., while Wang, a 2019 Blue Devil graduate, won the IOA Championship in Beaumont, Calif.
With rounds of 69, 66, 65 and 68 over four days for a 20-under, 268, Boutier finished in a tie for first with Solheim Cup teammate Georgia Hall. Boutier, a product of Montrouge, France, went on to birdie the first playoff hole, No. 18, to win the third LPGA event of her career.
“It’s definitely very gratifying. I think it’s very much a little bit of a relief because I’ve been trying to win for few years now. I guess it’s been two years. Was definitely feeling a little bit down at times and a little bit frustrated thinking, can I actually do it? To be able to do to this week with this strong of a field is definitely very good for confidence,” said Boutier, whose last win came at the 2021 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer. “I feel like my game was good enough for the past couple years for sure. I just wasn’t able to win. I feel like it’s something you need to learn. I definitely had a bunch of opportunities last year and wasn’t able to do it, so to be able to do it this early in the season this year is definitely very satisfying.”
Boutier earned $262,500 for the victory and now owns $4,143,690 of earnings for her LPGA Tour career. With the win, Boutier became the winningest French player on the LPGA Tour, passing Patricia Meunier-Lebouc and Anne-Marie Palli.
Duke now features six wins on the LPGA by Boutier (3), Brittany Lang (2) and Leona Maguire (1). It marked the second straight year a Blue Devil has won the LPGA Drive On Championship as Maguire held the trophy in 2022. Maguire placed tied for 23rd in 2023, while Gina Kim fired a 6-under in the final round to tie for 66th. Kim also made the first hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour in 2023 on Sunday.
Wang carded a 7-under-par, 65, on Saturday in the second round to…
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