Tag: Celine Boutier

Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko tied at Women’s Scottish Open heading to final round

There are 12 players within four shots of the lead.

If the leaderboard following the third round is any indication, the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland, is in for a thrilling finish come Sunday.

Twelve players are within four shots of the lead, but Celine Boutier and Lydia Ko pace the field at 15 under following 54 holes in the week before the final women’s major championship of the season.

Ko, who fired consecutive rounds of 65 to open the tournament, shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday, and her highlight of the day came on the 18th. Her approach shot landed just past the hole before spinning back and nearly dropping for eagle. The ball settled a couple feet from the hole, and she tapped in the birdie to close her round on a high note. After not recording a bogey through the first two rounds, Ko made three on Saturday to her four birdies.

“I drove it a little better than I did the past couple of days, but my irons just weren’t as sharp,” Ko said. “It wasn’t the best golf I’ve played, but I was able to scramble around and it wasn’t as bad as I think.”

Boutier, however, was spectacular. She went out in 5-under 31, including three straight birdies on Nos. 5, 6 and 7. Boutier also birdied the third and ninth holes. On the back nine, she had one birdie and one bogey, but it was good enough to vault her into a tie for first heading to Sunday.

“It was a very solid day,” Boutier said. “The conditions were a bit more windy and a bit tougher, so it was really good to get a good start.”

Boutier has had plenty of success on links courses before. During the 2019 Solheim Cup, she went 4-0-0 for Team Europe in her first appearance, helping the Europeans win by a point.

“I really like playing in windy conditions,” said Boutier. “I feel like my ball flight is pretty low, so I never have trouble keeping it down, which is an advantage here.”

Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who tied for low round of the day at 6-under 66, is one of two players one shot back in a tie for third. Leblanc also went out in 5-under 31 and birdied both of the par 5s on the back nine to vault up the leaderboard. Leonie Harm shot 5-under 67 and moved to 14 under for the tournament, tied with Leblanc.

Harm, 24, is searching for her first career victory. The German, who turned pro in 2020, has shot rounds of 67-68-67 this week.

“I really enjoyed today’s round,” Harm said. “It got a bit windier, so it actually was a lot more difficult than the previous two rounds. And I’m very, very proud of myself that I still got a low scorecard to sign off.”

Eun-Hee Ji and Lilia Vu are tied at 13 under in a tie for fifth. The duo played with Ko in the final pairing, shooting 2 under and 1 under, respectively.

Ko is searching for her first victory since March while Boutier hasn’t won since October of 2021.

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LA Open winner Nasa Hataoka tops list of 10 best players on the LPGA without a major title

Hataoka’s sixth LPGA win puts her in elite company.

Nasa Hataoka’s sixth career victory at the DIO Implant LA Open on Sunday puts her in elite company with Jessica Korda. Together they’re the winningest players on the LPGA without a major title.

Who are the best players without a major? Some on this list, like Hataoka and Korda, have won quite a bit already. Others, like rookie Atthaya Thitikul, make the list based on talent and potential.

Minjee Lee and Jennifer Kupcho are two players who played their way off of last year’s list. Lee won the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship, and Kupcho broke through with her first LPGA title at the Chevron Championship earlier this month.

Here’s a list of 10 players (with their Rolex Ranking) who are either primed to win a major or past due:

Jin Young Ko wins CME Group Tour Championship, banks $1.5 million, wins LPGA Player of the Year

Jin Young Ko wins for the fifth time this season and 12th time in her LPGA career.

Jin Young Ko shot a final-round bogey-free 63 to win the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship and in the process, LPGA Player of the Year honors.

Oh, and she banked a first-place check for $1.5 million, the largest payday on the LPGA.

Four players—Ko, Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka and Celine Boutier—started the final round tied atop the leaderboard at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

On the ninth hole, Ko drained a 30-footer for birdie to get to 20 under for the week to give her a four-shot lead. Hataoka cut the lead to two after she birdied the 10th. Up just one shot on 11, Ko made another long birdie putt to get to 21 under, pushing her back out in front by two shots. Another birdie on 13 made it a three-shot advantage. One more birdie on 17, her ninth of the day, got her to 23 under and sealed the deal.

Only Ko and Korda had a shot at the Player of the Year award, with Korda starting the week with a 10-point lead. Ko’s fifth win this season vaulted her back to the top. It’s the second straight CME title for her, as well.

Ko, 26, now has 12 LPGA victories, tying her with Sei Young Kim and Ariya Jutanugarn on the all-time list. The CME was her 81st LPGA start. The $1.5 million prize pushes her past $9 million in her career. At $9,102,985, Ko now checks in at No. 26 on the LPGA’s all-time money list.

Hataoka finished 21 under and was solo second. Mina Harigae and Boutier tied for third at 18 under.

Korda was attempting to win her fifth event of the season. Juli Inkster in 1999 was the last American on the LPGA to win five times in a season. Korda tied for fifth along with Megan Khang and Minjee Lee.

Lexi Thompson was solo eighth at 16 under. Lydia Ko shot a final-round 64 and tied for ninth along with In Gee Chun and Gabby Lopez at 15 under.

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Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko among leaders heading into Sunday at CME Group Tour Championship as they fight for Player of the Year honors

The two best players in the world are set for battle on Sunday.

NAPLES, Fla. – The battle for the Rolex Player of the Year is going down to the final round of the LPGA Tour season.

So is $1.5 million to the winner after four players ended the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship tied for the lead at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort on Saturday.

Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko are part of that tie, and the only two who can win the Player of the Year title.

Second-round leader Celine Boutier and Nasa Hataoka, who fired a final-nine 29 to shoot an 8-under 64 and vault up the leaderboard, are there with Korda and Ko.

Ko did her own vaulting, draining seven straight birdies on the front nine before a three-putt on No. 9 led to a bogey, and then nine straight pars on the back.

“It was really fun to play seven in a row birdies,” she said. “I was feeling I can make every putt on front nine.”

“I did see some bombs drop, but, I mean, that’s normal for Jin Young,” said Korda, who was playing in the group behind her.

Jin Young Ko plays the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Ritz Carlton Golf Resort , Tiburon Golf Club in Naples on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021. She was tied for the lead with several other players.

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Ko said she is still feeling some pain in her left wrist, but took some medication and has had it taped this week. She has not had an MRI on it, but plans on doing so when she gets back to South Korea. Ko isn’t hitting a club more or something like that because of the wrist, but she is trying to avoid hitting shots into the green.

“I had to more like stiff to impact so it’s going to be more hard and pained here,” Ko said. “So I was look where is the down grain from the fairway from the tee shot, and then I had — hitting the down grain to down grain, not into grain, because I really want to keep my wrist here.”

Korda didn’t do much early, bogeyed No. 12 to fall back, but birdied No. 14, and then made a big move with a short eagle putt on No. 17 after sticking a 9-iron from 145 yards.

“It was so downwind and I hit it perfectly,” Korda said.

Korda’s bogey on No. 12 occurred after she hit her shot left on the par-3 and was on some pine straw. As she set up to hit the shot, she said the ball moved, then came back to its original position. She called a rules official over, and video was reviewed, determining there would be no penalty. Korda hit her next shot a few feet past the hole, but missed the par putt.

“That situation on the par-3 kind of scared me a little,” she said.

Hataoka captured Ko’s front-nine magic on her back nine, rattling off seven birdies, including the final five holes.

“The first nine I wasn’t really stroking my putt really well, but I was patient with that,” she said. “I was more focused with my routine this week, which kind of helped my game today, this week.”

Gaby Lopez had a three-hole finish as turbulent as the windy conditions, and is a stroke behind along with Mina Harigae.

Gaby Lopez of Mexico putts on the 18th green during the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf on November 20, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Lopez put her shot on the par-3 16th into the water and made a double-bogey, but got both shots back with an eagle on No. 17 capped by a huge fist pump. But she gave another back on No. 18 that actually could have been worse, after hitting her second shot in the water. She made a 5-footer to save bogey.

“I had just terrible swing on 16 and that got me in trouble,” Lopez said. “I took a double bogey out of there, and I was still calm after that. I know I was hitting the right shots and I was playing the way I wanted.

“I came to 17 and I hit a beautiful drive, beautiful 5-iron, and it happened to go in. I tried to stay calm all day long. I tried to stay calm throughout the tournament. Sometimes when I bring this emotion I just can’t stop it. I feel that I dragged it into 18. It was hard to keep it together. But at the same time, it’s something that I love from my game, something I embrace so much.”

Boutier wasn’t hitting her approach shots as close as she was in her back-to-back 65s that broke the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record. She dropped out of the lead with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 16 — both par 3s — but bounced back with a birdie on No. 17.

“It was pretty tough out there,” she said. “I feel like I didn’t hit it as well as the past two days. I did struggle to make some birdies.

“I mean, it was quite windy, but I was a little bit unsatisfied with my putting.”

Lexi Thompson, who also bogeyed No. 18, Leona Maguire, and Nanna Koerstz Madsen are all just two behind with 18 holes remaining in the season.

The field faced more wind Saturday than it did Friday, but they weren’t playing preferred lies in the third round after doing so for the first two. The wind picked up as the afternoon went on, and a brief squall of rain added to the challenge.

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Ko and Korda are in the same final group, along with Hataoka, so they can finish off their battle head-to-head.

“It’s for other people,” said Korda, who also is going for back-to-back victories. I’m just out there going to do my job, taking a shot at a time, and see where it takes me. That’s all you can do.

“That’s the attitude I put into it. Obviously there is weeks that are easier than other, but that’s the attitude I try to take into every week.”

“It’s tough to say that, but, yeah, I have to win because she plays really well right now,” Ko said. “So I don’t have stress for the Player of the Year.”

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

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Five reasons why LPGA season finale is can’t-miss TV, including Nelly Korda vs. Jin Young Ko, Lexi Thompson’s shot at redemption and a $1.5. million prize

Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, and Lexi Thompson all in the mix again – yes, please.

After last week’s leaderboard at the Pelican Women’s Championship felt almost too good to be true, it seemed unlikely that the season-ender in Naples, Florida, could match the drama, even with $1.5 million on the line.

And yet, here we are, spoiled by yet another who’s who board of champions that includes the two best players in the world – Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko – duking it out for LPGA Player of the Year honors and a boatload of cash.

Did the LPGA save the best for last? Here are five reasons why the CME Group Tour Championship Sunday final is can’t-miss TV. And yes, it’s finally live on NBC from 1-4 p.m.

CME Group Tour Championship: France’s Celine Boutier builds four-stroke lead after second round

“I think something about tough courses makes me focus even more.”

NAPLES, Fla. – Celine Boutier felt like she was in the zone Friday. Despite all of the craziness blowing around her.

With winds gusting 15 mph or more, the Frenchwoman put together her second straight 7-under-par 65 to build a four-stroke lead in the $5 million CME Group Tour Championship at TiburĂłn Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

Thursday, the elite, 60-player field dealt with rain and wet conditions. The second round, swirling winds, especially for the leaders in the afternoon, were the next element thrown at them.

It didn’t matter for Boutier, who fired a 6-under 30 on the back nine.

“I think something about tough courses makes me focus even more, and then I was just really confident with my iron game,” said the 28-year-old, who won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last month for her second LPGA Tour victory. “I think I was kind of in the zone, to be honest. I just didn’t overthink it. Just picked a number and then just was able to do it.

“It was playing very different than (Thursday)for sure. Definitely, the wind was a huge factor in that. I actually enjoy the wind. Obviously depends on the intensity, but I feel like today was very manageable. I feel like I was striking it well too, so definitely makes a difference when it’s windy. I was able to take advantage of that.”

Celine Boutier of France reacts on the 18th green during the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 19, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, Australia’s Minjee Lee, and American Mina Harigae, who played with Boutier, are all tied for second at 10-under 134 with two rounds to play to determine the winner of $1.5 million in the LPGA Tour’s season-ending event.

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Golfers from six different countries are in the top eight on the leaderboard.

“Celine, she’s a great player,” said Harigae, who lost to Boutier in the Solheim Cup. “Honestly she’s kind of like an all-around, complete player. Great ball striker, great short game, and really, really good putter.

“You know, that equals 14-under for two days.”

England’s Georgia Hall, South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji, world No. 1 Nelly Korda, and first-round leader Jeongeun Lee6 of South Korea are tied for fifth, with Jin Young Ko, Ally Ewing, Megan Khang, and Lexi Thompson another stroke back at 8-under.

Harigae crept back up the leaderboard by draining a long birdie putt on No. 16, and following up with another birdie on No. 17. She was able to time the wind well all day, although she said she just couldn’t get anything going for most of it.

“I was fortunate enough where it didn’t really gust right when I was about to hit,” she said. “I could kind of just I guess tell that it was like ending a gust or it never really — I was fortunate enough to never get affected by those gusts.”

Celine Boutier of France plays her shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 19, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Boutier birdied seven of her last 10 holes, starting with back-to-back ones on Nos. 9 and 10, then picked more on Nos. 12-13, 15, and 17 and 18.

“Hopefully I get a little bit of confidence from today so I’m able to — I think one thing that’s been a little bit of a struggle for me is sometimes when I get nervous I get tense and I start to overthink and controlling my shots,” she said. “So I feel like hopefully I get a bit more confidence from today and I’m able to play a little bit more relaxed tomorrow and over the weekend.”

While Harigae got going late in her round, both Lopez and Lee pointed to par putts early on that helped out.

Lopez hit a shot in the water on No. 4, but was able to make par. She followed that up with birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, and went on to shoot a 4-under 68.

Lee had an uphill par putt on No. 3, made it, and then responded with birdies on Nos. 4 and 6. She bogeyed No. 18 for a 68.

Lopez has two victories in her career and this year has five top-10s, including one on Sunday at the Pelican Women’s Championship near Tampa, to give her some confidence, Lee has this year’s Evian Championship victory to draw from.

“Just being more mentally competitive and not letting that get myself down instead of focusing on what I need to do to get the ball in the hole,” Lopez said of Boutier’s four-stroke lead.

Lee said: “It’s just like a little silent confidence for me just so I can go out there and play confidently and know that I can play under pressure and play well under pressure.”

Celine Boutier of France lines up a putt on the 17th green during the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 19, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Boutier said dealing with pressure is something she’s learning, especially when she’s paired with top players. Lopez does have two victories, but isn’t at the level of a Nelly Korda or Jin Young Ko, for example, who are battling for Player of the Year.

But the ShopRite win and one in September at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France have her feeling more comfortable.

“Honestly, probably getting that win at home and at the ShopRite has been major,” she said. “Obviously winning and playing at home is never easy, and then being able to get that second win for me at ShopRite that was two and a half years after my first win was definitely helpful for my confidence.

“You never know. Maybe the first time was luck. You kind of want to confirm. So it’s been very huge for my confidence, and I just feel like a little bit more comfortable in this situation now.”

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

Jeongeun Lee6 leads by one after first round of the CME Group Tour Championship with $1.5 million on the line

With $1.5 million on the line, Jeongeun Lee6 leads by a single shot

It wasn’t all that long ago that Mina Harigae was playing on the Arizona-based Cactus Tour, trying to earn enough money to pay the bills during a global pandemic. Fast forward 18 months and she’s in contention to win $1.5 million at the CME Group Tour Championship.

“I would buy a house for sure,” she said, “and a bunch of Jordan shoes.”

A sparkling, bogey-free 65 at Tiburon Golf Club, highlighted by a chip-in for eagle at the par-5 17th, put Harigae one shot back of 2019 U.S. Women’s Open winner Jeongeun Lee6. Round 1 of the CME was set up for scoring in response to a wet forecast. Players lit up the board on a calm day with preferred lies.

While Harigae enjoyed a legendary junior career in the state of California and beyond, she mostly toiled in the shadows as a professional, that is until she shared the lead going into the weekend at the AIG Women’s British Open at Carnoustie last August and was selected by Pat Hurst as a captain’s pick for Team USA in the 2021 Solheim Cup that same weekend. The 32-year-old Solheim rookie called the week at Inverness the best experience of her life.

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“Being able to pull off the shots that I did during my matches and making some clutch putts, I think that gave me a ton of confidence,” said Harigae.

“Almost as if I can do that there in that kind of atmosphere, I can really do it anywhere on any course in any tournament.”

As for the Jordans, Harigae said she personally only has six pairs but her fiancé and caddie, Travis Kreiter, owns 30. Their collection is stored in the couple’s upstairs loft along with their golf equipment.

“When I see a really good pair, it’s hard for me to pull the trigger sometimes,” she said, “but when I can’t stop thinking about a pair, that’s when I’ll definitely get one.

Harigae reports that she has only spent a maximum of $250 on a single pair so far, but that she might splurge more if the rest of the week goes as planned.

Last Sunday, Jennifer Kupcho struggled to a 7-over 77 alongside fellow American Solheim Cup teammates Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson in the final group at the Pelican Women’s Championship, but she too has strong rookie Solheim vibes to draw from.

Jennifer Kupcho prepares to putt during the first round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 18, 2021, in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

“It probably was my best ball-striking week I’ve ever had in my life,” said Kupcho, who went 2-1-1 at Inverness. “So that definitely gave me confidence.”

2021 Solheim Cup participants are peppering the board early in Naples, with Frenchwoman Celine Boutier joining Kupcho and Harigae at 7 under, and Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall, and Megan Khang at 5 under.

Boutier, who rolled out of Europe’s victorious Solheim moment and into a victory on home soil at the Lacoste Ladies Open, followed by her second LPGA title at the ShopRite in October. The biennial event, she said, gives her an added boost of confidence that she can handle pressure situations.

“I just feel like my personality, in general, is not super confident,” she said, “so I feel like I always have some doubt in my mind that I have to prove myself again and again.”

Hall’s round received a jolt when she drained a 50-foot eagle putt on the sixth hole after reaching the par 5 in two with a 3-wood.

“The greens are probably (some) of the best that I’ve played in the last four or five years,” she said.

While Kupcho played her way out of the mix on Sunday at the Pelican, her playing partners, Korda and Thompson, met in a sudden-death playoff alongside Lydia Ko and Sei Young Kim. Korda eventually won the title, and all four carried that strong form into Round 1 of the CME.

Kim joined the foursome at 7 under while World No. 1 Korda shot 66. Thompson responded from a heart-breaking string of short misses down the stretch at Pelican with a 67 at CME. Ko, who is on the verge of clinching the Vare Trophy for the tour’s low-scoring average, posted a 69.

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Celine Boutier sizzles to 63 and shoplifts the ShopRite LPGA Classic title

Celine Boutier tied her career-low with a final-round 9-under 63 to come from behind and win the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Celine Boutier birdied the final hole to capture her second LPGA Tour title and first on U.S. soil at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, N.J.

Boutier, 27, tied her career low with an eight-under 63, at Seaview Golf Club’s Bay Course to vault past two of the game’s brightest lights in Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko.

“It’s unbelievable,” she told Golf Channel’s Kay Cockerill in the aftermath. “I think I’m still not realizing it yet.”

France’s Boutier, who reached World No. 1 as an amateur while playing collegiately at Duke, enjoyed her first LPGA win at the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open. On Sunday, she rode a hot putter to six birdies on the front nine to join the trophy hunt.

Park, 33, seeking her 22nd LPGA win, missed a 10-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. She settled for 69 and finished tied for second.

Ko, who shot 66-65 in the first two rounds to share the overnight lead with Park, was bidding to become the fifth Korean player in LPGA Tour history with 10 wins, joining Se Ri Pak, Ji-Yai Shin, Sei Young Kim and, of course, Park. But neither of the South Korean stars had their best stuff in the final round.

Boutier’s charge lifted her into a tie at 13 under with the overnight leaders as well as Canadian Brooke Henderson, who played in the same group with Boutier and chipped in for birdie at the eighth en route to a 64. Boutier, a member of the winning European Solheim Cup team, broke the deadlock with a birdie at the par-5 18th and then had to sit and wait.

Her biggest challenge of the day? Finding a TV to watch the final holes play out. She went to wash her hands and found a TV in the locker room.

“I just kind of chilled and watched TV there because I couldn’t find one anywhere else,” she said.

Both Park and Ko failed to make birdie putts from roughly 10 feet to force the playoff and the trophy belonged to Boutier, who shot a 54-hole total of 14-under 199.

“It feels like my first victory in Australia was so long ago,” she said. “It definitely was time for another one.”

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Celine Boutier holds off Cheyenne Knight to win packed Texas Women’s Open

Celine Boutier, who resides in Dallas, edged Lonestar native Cheyenne Knight on Thursday to win the Texas Women’s Open.

The LPGA remains on hold, but its players are showing up in all places where there’s competitive golf to be played. That said, this week’s Texas Women’s Open looked more like a tour stop than a state open. Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, who resides in Dallas, edged Lonestar native Cheyenne Knight on Thursday for the title.

Boutier was 14 under for 54 holes at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. She climbed to the top of a loaded leaderboard on the strength of a second-round 7-under 64. She didn’t make a bogey that round.

Knight, who won the Volunteers of America Classic here last fall at the end of her rookie season, matched Boutier with a final-round 67 but it wasn’t enough. She finished at 11 under, three behind Boutier.

Scores: Texas Women’s Open

In 2019, Boutier cracked the winner’s circle for the first time in her three seasons on the LPGA by winning the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia. She was T-5 at the U.S. Women’s Open and went 4-0-0 for the European Solheim Cup team in the fall.

Kristen Gillman, an Austin native in her second season on tour, was a distant third at 5 under and Yu Liu, a former Duke teammate of Boutier’s (both were members of the Blue Devils’ 2014 NCAA title-winning team), was fourth at 4 under.

In all, six LPGA players finished inside the top 10. That also included Lindsey Weaver in a tie for fifth at 2 under and Brittany Lang, the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open champion, in a tie for seventh at 1 under.

Sadie Englemann, an Austin resident committed to play for Stanford, was the low amateur after finishing in part of the three-way tie for seventh.

Kenzie Wright, an Alabama senior who appeared on the Crimson Tide roster with Gillman, was solo 10th with an even-par total.

LPGA players Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller, both Solheim Cuppers, were part of the five-woman tie for 11th

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