Céline Boutier, the top ranked French player in this week’s Lacoste Ladies Open de France, is hoping to add a third Ladies European Tour title to her resumé this weekend at Golf du Médoc.
The world number 127, who won last year’s Sanya Ladies Open, notched her second in the Australian Ladies Classic – Bonville, in February and since then, she has enjoyed a successful rookie season on the LPGA, including three top 15 finishes and a career low 63 (-9) in the third round of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in Green Bay, where she tied for 29th position. Should she win this weekend, she would be the first multiple winner of the 2018 LET season.
“I’m very excited to head to Bordeaux to play in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, as I have missed playing in my home country and I look forward to playing the Golf du Médoc. I have never had the chance to play the course before,” said Boutier, from Montrouge, a suburb of Paris, who practises regularly at Le Golf National, the venue for this month’s Ryder Cup.
After playing in the Pro-Am at Golf du Médoc on Wednesday, she said: “It’s a very good course and it has a linksy feel to it. The greens are a little softer than I expected, so it’s not rolling out as much. You have some good lines off the tee. I think the greens are difficult in the sense that they are large with lots of undulations, so going low will depend on the pin placements and playing smart.”
Boutier, who has shared a swing coach with Jordan Spieth in Cameron McCormack since her senior year at Duke University, says that she has learned a lot emotionally this year, but is working on her long game. “I feel like my weakness has been my driver so I need to hit it straighter with more distance.”
She is not the only Frenchwoman to have enjoyed success on the LET this year. Astrid Vayson de Pradenne won the Jabra Ladies Open at the Evian Resort, while Justine Dreher and Manon Mollé recently claimed silver medals in the European Golf Team Championships at Gleneagles.
There are 21 French players looking for home glory in the field of 108 players, including the above mentioned players and Céline Herbin, the 2015 Lacoste Ladies Open de France champion.
