Celine Boutier has lived in Texas for eight years, but no one in the Olympic field is more familiar with Le Golf National than the 30-year-old Frenchwoman.
“I definitely know it with my eyes closed,” said Boutier, whose family home is 40 minutes away.
A six-time winner on the LPGA, Boutier broke through with her first major championship on home soil at the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship, becoming the first Frenchwoman to win the LPGA’s fifth major.
Currently No. 7 in the world, Boutier will be the fan favorite Aug. 7-10 when the women’s competition heats up in France at the Olympic games.
“You definitely have to be a really good ball-striker to be able to have a chance there and to be able to control your ball,” she said of 2018 Ryder Cup venue. “I think it’s a great test.”
One of several LPGA players who took part in Friday’s opening ceremonies on the Seine River, this marks Boutier’s second Olympic Games. Fans can gain more insight into the former Duke star by watching a recently released “Playing Lessons” episode on NBC’s GolfPass. The two-part program, taped last March at Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, is hosted by PGA Tour caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay. Golfweek was on the scene in Florida as the pair met for the first time to film.
Boutier isn’t big on technique. She leaves that to her younger brother Kevin, a Lead Master Instructor at The Jim McLean Golf School in Miami. Not that she likes to talk instruction with him either.
“Just in general, I don’t like to talk about swings. I may also be a little bit scared of what he might say, so I’d rather not inquire about it,” she said with a laugh.
Scenes from Celine Boutier’s appearance on GolfPass show “Playing Lessons” at Omni ChampionsGate on Monday, March 18, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Cy Cyr / GolfPass)
This episode of “Playing Lessons” is less about technique and more about strategy, as Boutier walks Mackay through her routines and how she goes about selecting which type of shot to hit. Mackay, who spent most of his caddying career with Phil Mickelson, carried the bag for Boutier as they played three holes, talking about her career in between shots and what goes on inside the ropes.
This marks the fourth season of “Playing Lessons” and Mackay became a regular host of the series after being called to fill in for a Jon Rahm episode in Scottsdale, Arizona, where they both live. Mackay, who also works as an on-course reporter…
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