Celine Boutier carded a 3-under-par 68 on Sunday to capture her first major championship with a six-stroke victory at the Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Boutier, 29, recorded four birdies against one bogey on Sunday to finish the tournament at 14-under 270. She pocketed a $1 million check with the win.
The victory — her fourth on the LPGA Tour — was especially sweet for Boutier, who was born in Clamart, France, which is a little more than five hours southeast of Evian Resort Golf Club. She is the first woman from France to win this tournament.
“It honestly has been my biggest dream ever since I started watching golf,” Boutier said. “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 sealed the win by sinking a par putt. She immediately was doused by champagne by her fellow competitors, setting off a standing ovation from the crowd.
“Oh, I think nothing else matters now that I have this trophy, so I’m really good for the rest of the year,” Boutier said.
Boutier’s previous best finish at the Evian was T29 on two occasions. She missed the cut at the event last year.
Now, she is the fifth golfer to win her first major at this event, joining Hyo Joo Kim (2014), Lydia Ko (2015), Angela Stanford (2018) and Minjee Lee (2021).
Canada’s Brooke Henderson (70 on Sunday) — the 2022 winner — finished in second place at 8-under. She recorded three birdies against two bogeys in the final round.
“I feel like things are really coming together,” Henderson said. “It’s been a little bit of up-and-down year so it’s really nice to finish strong this week.”
Norway’s Celine Borge (68), Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (68), South Korea’s A Lim Kim (69) and Japan’s Yuka Saso (70) and Nasa Hataoka (72) all finished at 7-under in a five-way for third place.
Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh shot a 69 to finish in sole possession of eight place at 6-under, one stroke ahead of a five-way contingent that included rookie Rose Zhang (68).
“Game plan was just to execute every shot that I could and really commit to my swing,” Zhang said. “I feel like I wasn’t really playing my own game and my own style, so just having the confidence to be able to hit the shots today really allowed me to go out there and try to get a good score in.”
–Field Level Media
