Celine Boutier has claimed it was a ‘dream come true’ to win her first Major title at the Amundi Evian Championship but admitted the pressure of playing on home soil has held her back from performing at her best in the past.
The 29-year-old cruised to a six shot victory on Sunday afternoon following a dominant display that saw her card a final round 68 to become the first French golfer to win at the tournament.
It is her second win on the LPGA Tour this season, after she clinched the Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club back in March, ending a year’s wait for a trophy on the women’s circuit.
She was cheered on by a raucous home crowd, but speaking ahead of the Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, she admitted the pressure to perform at her home Major had prevented her from playing well at the Evian Resort Golf Club in the past.
“It’s hard to believe but I never really pictured how it was going to happen,” Boutier said.
“It was just such a dream, I wouldn’t even call it a goal for me this year. I obviously wanted to perform well in the Majors. But in the past I was never really able to play well in Evian.
Celine Boutier claimed her first Major on home soil at the Evian Championship on Sunday.
(Image credit: Getty Images )
“The pressure of everything was a lot to handle and this year I just decided to really do it for myself and not put so much pressure on myself and the fact that I even had the chance to play for the win on the final round was already a big achievement for me.
She would march down the 18th fairway, comfortably clear of her closest challenger, Brooke Henderson, soaking up the atmosphere before wrapping herself in a French flag and hoisting the trophy high into the air.
“Then to pull it off on the final day, to have the crowd behind me, which I never imagined that they would never be so loud, energetic and passionate about it – it felt like a win for me but it felt like a win for them as well,” Boutier, who has won four times on the LPGA Tour, said.
“So to be able to share it with everyone in my home country is just an absolute dream come true.
“I think because I was leading, I think people…
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