Last week Celine Boutier’s dream came true when she won the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship by six shots.
It was a moment the Frenchwoman had been waiting her whole life for as she secured her maiden major title in front of the home crowd and became the first French player to win the tournament since it became a major.
With her family on site at Evian Resort Golf Club, Boutier soaked up the experience and tried to take as much in as possible before the drive home to Paris.
“It was very overwhelming,” said the Solheim Cup winner. “I feel like it was incredible to be able to share my win with my family and obviously with the fans. The past few days, I’ve been really overwhelmed by the amount of support and people reaching out and being really genuinely happy for me. It is just absolutely a dream come true.
“I never really pictured how it was going to happen. Obviously, it was such a dream for me. I wouldn’t even call it a goal for me this year. I obviously wanted to perform well in the majors, but in the past, I was never really able to play well in Evian.
“Just the pressure of everything was a lot for me to handle and this year, I just decided to really do it for myself and not put so much pressure on myself. The fact that I even had a chance to play for the win in the final round was a big advantage for me.
“To pull it off on the final day, to have the crowd behind you, which I never imagined that they would be so loud and so energetic, so passionate about it. It felt like a win for me, and it felt like a win for them as well. To be able to share it with everyone in my home country is an absolute dream come true.”
After her victory, the four-time LET winner jumped up to number four in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and now sits ninth in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol.
Fast forward a few days and Boutier is getting ready to tee it up at the FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open Presented by Trust Golf.
This is a tournament she has consistently done well in having never missed the cut and last year she finished as runner-up behind winner Ayaka Furue.
Dundonald Links is a different test and golf course to that of Evian, but Boutier has proved previously that she has what it takes to perform in the wind and is excited to get going.
She explained: “It’s definitely great memories. I felt like I played very solid and it was the first year on this course, so I feel like it was really good memories for me.
“I always enjoy playing links course, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I think it’s going to be very different conditions than last week. So, I’m just excited to get back at it and try to keep the ball low.”
Boutier will begin her first round from the first tee at 12.31 pm (local time) alongside England’s Charley Hull and American Alison Lee.
The 29-year-old has had previous success in Scotland putting in an excellent Solheim Cup debut in Gleneagles in 2019 and hopes if the opportunity presents itself, she would be able to capture a first individual win in the country too.
She added: “I feel like Scotland is definitely the Home of Golf, so it would be a goal of mine to win in Scotland for sure during my career. Any opportunity I will have to play for the win, I will definitely try to seize it and do my best.”
The first round will begin tomorrow at 7.10 am (local time) with the final group going off at 2.23 pm at Dundonald Links.
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #WomenScottishOpen.
