By signing her best card of the week in the 3rd round, the Frenchwoman Céline Boutier took control of the tournament and will set off this Sunday in pursuit of her 3rd success on the LPGA!
11 fairways out of 14, 14 greens in regulation but above all 26 putts (!) the French number 1 was boosted on Saturday on the Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club course.
Her card of 65 allows her to take the lead in the standings alone, one step ahead of a triplet made up of American Alison Lee, Thai Moriya Jutanugarn and South Korean rookie Hae Ran Ryu.
17 birdies and an eagle in 54 holes!
After a timid first day, the Francilienne now based in Dallas has apparently taken the measure of the route of Gold Canyon in Arizona. Passed in 33 on the way out after having started her day perfectly with an eagle from hole number 2, she concluded her 3rd round by signing her 17th birdie of the week at 18.
“I feel like I had a lot of birdie opportunities today and I didn’t convert them all” she told the LPGA website.
A “scorable” course
To win the LPGA for the third time, 17 months after his last success in Galloway, New Jersey, and thus overtake Patricia Meunier-Lebouc and Anne-Marie Palli the number of victories for a Frenchwoman on the American circuit, Boutier is aware that she will have to repeat a very high level performance this Sunday since no less than 18 players stand in 3 shots.
“I know I need to score very low and take advantage of the many opportunities that present themselves on this course.”
The 65 of the Frenchwoman is indeed only the third best score of the day behind the three cards of 63 recorded by the other sister Jutanugarn (Ariya), the Norwegian Celine Borge, and the South Korean Amy Yang.
The video summary of Céline Boutier’s 3rd round
Perrine Delacour finishes strong
Second Frenchwoman to have qualified for the weekend, among the four French players at the start, Perrine Delacour returned a good 69 thanks to a last third of crazy course!
The player from Aisne, who is returning to the LPGA after more than 6 months of absence for personal reasons, completed her 3rd round with 3 birdies and an eagle on the last 6 holes!
Le Leaderboard
They missed the cut
©Meg Oliphant/Getty Images/AFP
