After two missed cuts in her last two outings, Céline Boutier is back in action this week in Ayrshire, Scotland. On Saturday the French number 1 made up for the 4 strokes behind the New Zealand leader Lydia Ko and will set off in the last part alongside her on Sunday to seek, who knows, her third victory in 4 years on the LPGA.
Scottish Open, results
One week before The Women’s Open on the Muirfield course in East Lothian, Céline Boutier is rehearsing her ranges to perfection in the East of Scotland. Whether it’s raining, sunny or windy, the Frenchwoman seems in her element on the Dundonald Links.
As proof of his fiery start on Saturday in the penultimate part. The French number 1 scored 5 birdies on her first 9 holes to climb to the top of the tournament from the halfway point. Slowed down by a bogey at 12, Céline Boutier immediately corrected the situation on the first par 5 of the return.
Impeccable since the start of the tournament, ex-world number 1 Lydia Ko recorded her first bogey of the tournament at 3 on Saturday. In fairly disturbed playing conditions, the Kiwi did not manage to tame the Scottish layout as it had done in the first two rounds.
Despite its 16 greens out of 18 taken in regulation, it proved to be less effective putter in hand (33 putts against 26 and 29 the first two days) but nevertheless managed to preserve the essentials, in particular thanks to a few brilliant shots such as here at 15.
Like Céline Boutier, Canadian Maude-Aimée Leblanc crossed the first leg of the Dundonald Links course on the banks of the Firth of Clyde in 31. With an average of 28.3 putts since the start of the week, the Quebecer seems inspired by the success of her compatriot Brooke M.
Henderson, winner of the Evian Championship last week. Imperial from tee to green, she achieved one of the great operations of the day with her 66, best card of the day, and could, at 33, finally grab her first victory on the American women’s circuit.
The other tricolor in a position to play the spoilsports this weekend had more difficulty completing his 3rd round. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who shared her part with Leblanc, was still in the right car before the last third of the course but the Varoise, much less at ease on the greens (33 putts on Saturday) conceded 3 bogeys on her last 7 holes and fell back beyond 20th place.
Like the day before the two other blues who crossed the cut returned an identical card of 69 but if the Girondine Emma Grechi made no mistakes and recorded 3 birdies, the Picarde of the LPGA Perrine Delacour had to compensate for a bogey and a double bogey by 6 birdies. Recovered in 34th position, the two tricolors can hope to integrate the first third of the classification on Sunday.
