EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – In her home country of France, Duke women’s golf 2016 graduate Celine Boutier claimed her first LPGA major victory Sunday as she won the Amundi Evian Championship at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France.
The win for Boutier is her fourth career victory on the LPGA Tour and second of the 2023 campaign. She earned 650 points on the Race to the CME Globe and is expected to move to No. 1. Boutier earned an impressive $1 million winner’s check and moved her season earnings to $1,751,834 and career earnings to $5,502,732 on the LPGA Tour.
“It honestly has been my biggest dream ever since I started watching golf,” said Boutier. “This tournament has always been very special to me, just even watching as a teenager. To be able to hold this trophy is pretty unbelievable.”
Boutier is the first golfer from France to claim the Amundi Evian Championship title since the event was designated as a major and the third Frenchwoman to win a major championship. She joins former Duke standout Brittany Lang (2016 U.S. Women’s Open) as Blue Devils to win a major championship.
“(Having my family here) made it even better,” said Boutier. “I feel like they 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 definitely wouldn’t be here without them.”
After being tied for the individual lead after 18 holes, Boutier held the solo lead following 36 and 54 holes. Heading into Sunday’s final round, she had registered scores of 66, 69 and 67 for an 11-under, 202. Boutier, who hails from Montrouge, France, had a dream start to Sunday’s final round as she birdied No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 to get to 14-under-par. She then parred seven straight holes and saw her lead dwindle to four at one point, but she notched a key birdie on No. 15 and three pars on the way in to shoot a 68 and claim the tournament win she always wanted.
“I feel like golf you can always play better,” said Boutier. “I feel like I was very steady all four rounds, which is very positive. Especially with tougher conditions, I’m definitely very satisfied with my level and with my game this week. “It was not easy, 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…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Duke University…