Leader after two rounds, the Frenchwoman paid for a rough start during the third (72) to slip to third place in the tournament (-7) behind the Japanese Furue Ayaka (-10) and the Australian Hannah Green (-8). The title, however, remains accessible. Very clean this Saturday, Perrine Delacour is 32nd (+1).
Golf is sometimes just about numbers. To play 64 during the second round, Céline Boutier had hit 13 out of 14 fairways and had only putt 22 times in 18 holes. During the third round, which ended this Saturday morning (French time), the Frenchwoman only took 5 fairways and above all stayed much longer on the greens (31 putts). No driving, no putting and necessarily a less successful card (72), immediately punished by a drop in the ranking. Fortunately, golf is not played over three rounds but rather four and Céline Boutier still remains in an extremely comfortable position to find her first LPGA crown of the season, which would be the 7th of her career.
Leading from the start (bogey at 3, 4, 6), Céline Boutier in fact remained solid enough not to let herself be carried away by an infernal spiral (birdie at 5 and especially eagle at 8 with a masterful chip) to return to the by the end of the outward journey. She was clean on the return without knowing the little spark allowing her to beat the course. Here she is positioned alongside the American Andrea Lee (-7), three points behind the leader Furue Ayaka (68 in this third round) and just behind the Aussie Hannah Green (67). The Habs will therefore not start in the last part during the final round but will have plenty of time to put pressure on the other contenders for the trophy.
