Olympics-Golf-Bright start for Boutier boosts French hopes
Updates after close of play, adds details and quotes
By Gus Trompiz
GUYANCOURT, France, Aug 7 (Reuters) -France's Celine Boutier delighted the home crowd by taking a first-round lead at the Olympic women's golf competition on Wednesday, with her slick putting setting her apart from some of her rivals who toiled on a tricky course south of Paris.
Treated to a rendition of the Marseillaise by excited French fans as she teed off, the world number seven and major winner kept her cool to notch up eight birdies and a lone bogey to post a seven-under-par round of 65.
"It was easy to be carried away by the emotions and all that, and it was nice to see so many people, but it's true that afterwards I had to really focus," Boutier told reporters.
The 30-year-old said her putting went as well as she could have wanted, with the pick of her scoring shots an 18-foot chip from off the green into the 16th hole to take her to seven under.
Playing alongside Boutier, American world number two Lilia Vu revelled in the atmosphere and was pleased with a two-under-par clubhouse total that put her in tied-third place.
"This is really fun for me. I mean, they're cheering for me too, so I'm trying to keep up with Celine," she joked.
Boutier is seeking to outdo Victor Perez who thrilled French fans with a dazzling final round on Sunday to take fourth place in the men's competition.
The women's tournament will follow the same format as the men's contest won by American Scottie Scheffler, with 60 participants teeing off for a 72-hole, stroke-play contest over four days at Le Golf National.
Other early leaders included South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai, second at four under, and Colombia's Mariajo Uribe, who will retire after the Paris Games, part of a four-way tie for third place at two under.
Tokyo gold medallist NellyKorda, the world number one, shot a level-par round of 72 after recovering from three early bogies, with the American, like others, saying the greens were tricky to read.
"Overall, it just took a little bit to adjust but I adjusted well on the back nine," Korda sad.
Britain's Charley Hull was near the bottom of the leaderboard with a nine-over par round.
The world number 11 put her performance down to rustiness after a shoulder injury, brushing off the idea thatan Olympic ban on smoking had disadvantaged the player known for puffing on courses.
Perrine Delacour, France's other representative, said the emotion of hitting the first tee-shot of the competition drained her and contributed to a disappointing seven-over par.
Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Ken Ferris and Clare Fallon
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
