Céline Boutier made French golf history once again by winning a historic third victory at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain, Arizona. The Parisian native of Clamart did not tremble by beating the English Georgia Hall in the playoff this Sunday.

Twitter ©LPGA TourWith this victory, 29-year-old Céline Boutier took her third victory on the LPGA Tour and became the most successful French player on the tour, overtaking Patricia Meunier-Lebouc and Anne-Marie Palli. She previously won the ISPS Handa Vic Open in 2019 and the ShopRite Classic in 2021.

Céline Boutier forced the shoot-off by making a difficult birdie putt on the par 5 of 18, to finish with a score of 68, a total of 20 under par, the same as her friend Georgia Hall (65).

During the shoot-off, the two golfers failed to reach the green with their second shot. Boutier chipped from an almost identical spot to where she had done previously, to the right and short of the green, to close within about 1.20m. Meanwhile, Hall sent his second shot into a green bunker, going over the hole with his next shot and failing to convert his putt for the birdie. This set the stage for the Habs' winning putt.

Céline Boutier said she had mixed feelings about this playoff – and this victory against her friend – former Solheim Cup teammate Georgia Hall.

« I was a little sad about having to face it" , said Boutier. " It's a bittersweet feeling because you obviously want to win but at the same time I really think she's an amazing player and it's great that she scored so low and was able to participate in the playoffs… She's a very good friend of mine. So it's not always easy, but I'm also a competitor, and I definitely wanted to win too. But it's not the best of feelingss. "


Boutier birdied twice early on holes 2 and 3, then lost a shot with a bogey on the sixth. On the back nine, she came close with birdies on the 11th and 13th holes, and none were more important than the decisive birdie putt on the 18th hole, her 72nd hole.

« I was a little nervous, but not as much as I thought. she said. “I was just really focused. I had a really tough shot from the right with a break from right to left, so I was just trying to get as close as I could. Then the 1m50 putt was a bit under pressure."

After three birdied rounds at Superstition Mountain Golf Club, the final round began with 17 players within three strokes of the lead.

Hall made the most of his fourth round, posting one of three -7 under par scores on the day, including a -6 score on the return to take control on the finish at the clubhouse, finishing about an hour before Boutier.

Hall, who was looking for her first win since the 2020 Cambia Portland Classic, which followed a win at the British Women's Open in 2018, tried to find consolation in her near miss.

« Obviously fantastic to get to the position I was in”, said the 26-year-old winner. “I knew I had to score very low today, and obviously I was gutted by the playoffs. »

Japan's Ayaka Furue finished with a 65 in third place with a -1. Na Rin An of South Korea was alone fourth at 18 under with a final 67, while American Ally Ewing (67) and South Korean Jin Young Ko (68) finished fifth.

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Céline Boutier leader of the LPGA Drive On Championship