Celine Boutier was over the moon about her opening round at the Paris Olympics and rightly so. The Frenchwoman opened up a three-shot lead on home soil. From being serenaded on the first tee to being celebrated up the watery 18th, the fans backed their hero from start to finish in her opening 7-under 65 at Le Golf National.
There were times, she said, when it all felt like it was a bit much.
“It’s such a tough course that you have to focus on your game,” said the stoic Boutier. “You can’t just look around and, you know, laugh with the crowd. So it’s definitely nice to have some support, but you definitely have to focus out there.”
The headline of the day was Boutier’s magical start, but there was plenty more to note from Day 1 at the Olympics:
Tough start
Perrine Delacour had the honor of hitting the first tee shot at the Paris Olympics. The 30-year-old Frenchwoman, who found the fairway on the toughest hole of the day, was understandably overcome with emotion.
“I knew it was going to be a lot of emotion,” said Delacour. “But it was hard for sure when you start hearing ‘La Marseillaise’ on the first tee. It was hard to stay patient and stay in the present because you really realize you’re playing from France and in front of your crowd.”
The scene zapped Delacour’s energy and she struggled on the back nine with an inward 41. A watery trip up the par-5 18th – with two balls in the water – resulted in a triple-bogey eight. She opened with a 79.
“Unfortunately, the wind kind of like switched all around 18,” she said.
Homegrown hero
She’s done this before, of course. At last year’s Amundi Evian Championship, Boutier became the first woman to win a major on French soil. She knows what it’s like to play with the weight of a country on your shoulders, though there’s no doubt that more eyes will fall on her this week with a gold medal on the line.
“I think every time I play at home I never want to disappoint people,” she said, “to have that many people show up. And obviously, they want to cheer for some things. So it’s always nice to be able to give them that, and I never really want to play bad — nobody wants to play bad on home grounds. So it’s always nice to get a good start, but I also know that it’s still a long way to go and I have to focus on the next round.”
Boutier, who grew up on Le Golf National as a member of the French national team, chipped in for birdie on the 16th hole to end a string of three birdies on the back nine. She led the field in strokes gained putting and scrambling in the first round. Her 65 was nine shots better than the field average. Only a dozen players broke par.
How tough is Boutier? She went 4-0-0 in her Solheim Cup debut five years ago.
Hall of Fame watch
The only golfer – male or female – with two Olympic medals, Lydia Ko’s journey to try to complete the set began with an opening 72. Ko was quite pleased with the effort, noting that it felt like her best start to an Olympic Games. The Kiwi didn’t crack the top 10 in 2016 until the third round, where she won silver. In 2021, she climbed into a share of eighth after Round 2, where she ultimately won bronze.
She’s currently in a share of 13th with World No. 1 Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang and a host of others seven strokes back.
“Overall I played solid,” said Ko. “Made one hiccup on one hole. The course is difficult, and it can really get away from you.”
A gold medal this week would give Ko the 27th needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Last dance
Mariajo Uribe wore a pair of smiley-face tall socks on Wednesday, indicative of what it means to be here this week. Uribe planned to retire several years ago, but between the pandemic and the arrival of her son, the family decided to give Paris a shot.
“I mean, one of my idols is Lorena Ochoa, and she went out as No. 1 in the world, and I always thought that was so great, like just finishing on a high note,” said Uribe, who hails from Colombia and won the U.S. Women’s Amateur 15 years ago.
Uribe opened with three birdies in her first four holes. While she had a few hiccups along the way, her opening 70 put her in a share of third.
However the week continues to unfold for the LPGA veteran, it’s a week of celebration.
Testy start
