Celine Boutier of France. Photo: Mark Runnacles/LET
Celine Boutier stormed to a six-stroke victory with a closing round of 68 (-3) to win the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club.
The Solheim Cup star made history as she became the first player from France to secure the Amundi Evian Championship since the event was designated a major.
It was a dream start for Boutier, who rolled in back-to-back birdies on her opening two holes before she added another birdie on the fifth to make the turn in 32 (-3) and extend her advantage at the top of the leaderboard.
Despite a dropped shot on 13, the Frenchwoman bounced back with a birdie on 15 and was able to walk up 18 and make her par to seal victory with a total of 14-under-par.
“It was definitely not easy,” said Boutier. “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 at a time. It was pretty challenging with the wind.
“The start was pretty unexpected. I definitely felt like I handled the first few holes really well. I had a good opportunity on one and the putt on two was definitely a bonus.
“In golf you can always play better. I definitely feel like I was very steady with all four rounds, which is very positive. Especially with the tougher conditions, I’m very satisfied with my level and with my game this week.”
This is the second win on home soil for Boutier in two years after she won the 2021 Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
While she also becomes the third Frenchwoman to win a major championship after Catherine LaCoste in 1967 and Patricia Meunier-Lebouc in 2003.
She explained, “It honestly has been my biggest dream ever since I started watching golf. This tournament has always been very special to me, even watching as a teenager. To be able to hold this trophy is pretty unbelievable.
“To have my family here made it even better. I feel like they definitely 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 wouldn’t be here without them.”
Brooke Henderson, who won the Championship in 2022, produced a final round of 70 (-1) to finish in outright second place on eight-under-par.
The Canadian star had three birdies and two bogeys on her scorecard at Evian to produce the best finish by a defending champion.
“I love coming here to France,” said Henderson. “The atmosphere, the people are amazing. This course is so beautiful and a lot of fun to play.
“I feel like we have a good strategy for it now, which is exciting. To finish I think T2 this year is amazing after coming off the win last year. I’m really proud of that. Celine played amazing, so really happy for her too.
“It feels great to be back in contention on the final groups in the weekend on a major championship. That’s all you can really ask for. I feel like the game has been trending for a while so nice to see some good results.”
Five players finished the week in a share of third place with Norway’s Celine Borge, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, Japanese duo Yuka Saso and Nasa Hataoka and Korea’s A Lim Kim on seven-under-par.
Borge said: “I finished with a few birdies, so that was nice. I saved some pars too on the back nine. I had some difficult lies in some places. It’s a very nice course and very difficult and tricky. It’s also been nice to play in Europe and be close to home.”
Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh ended the week in outright eighth place on six-under-par while five players were T9 on five-under-par including 2021 Race to Costa del Sol champion Atthaya Thitikul.
In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino still leads the way with 1,409.20 points with India’s Aditi Ashok in second (1,278.81) and Sweden’s Linn Grant is third (1,105.83).
Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova is in fourth place with 1,056.36 points while Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson has climbed to fifth place following her T28 finish at the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship.
India’s Diksha Dagar is sixth with England’s Cara Gainer in seventh and Spain’s Carmen Alonso in eighth place.
Newly-crowned major champion Boutier has jumped up the standings and sits in ninth with 889.63 points with England’s Lily May Humphreys rounding out the top 10.
Results (Top 5 and ties)
270 (-14) Celine Boutier (FRA) 66-69-67-68
276 (-8) Brooke M. Henderson (CAN) 69-70-67-70
277 (-7) Celine Borge (NOR) 67-72-70-68
Gaby Lopez (MEX) 69-68-72-68
A Lim Kim (KOR) 67-74-67-69
Yuka Saso (JPN) 67-69-71-70
Nasa Hataoka (JPN) 70-67-68-72
