Frenchwoman Celine Boutier has found a home away from home in Dallas, Texas as a member at Old American Golf Club, the site of this week’s The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America. The 28-year-old has lived in the Lone Star State for the last five years and tries to get up to the property as often as possible to prepare for her “hometown” event, a tournament in which she’s finished in the top 15 twice in four previous appearances.
“It's definitely exciting to be really close to home and to have some of my friends come out and watch later this week. I'm definitely looking forward to it, and I also like the course quite a lot, so I hope to get some good rounds going and hopefully play for a chance to win this weekend,” said Boutier, whose best finish in The Ascendant LPGA is a tie for 8th that came in 2021. “I'm a member here, I know some members out here, so I come to play once in a while, always a few rounds. And especially this spring, knowing we were coming here, I did come a few times. I think it's a very good course.”
Boutier has had one of her most solid seasons yet in 2022, carding six top-five finishes, including a solo second at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open and a tie for fourth at The Chevron Championship. She has three additional top 10s to her credit, most notably a tie for seventh that came in early August at the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield. Statistically, she ranks fourth in putts per green in regulation (1.74), 11th in scoring average (69.82) and 13th in rounds under par (45). She is also 17th in putting average (29.35) and 15th in official earnings this season ($1,089,467). Although a third LPGA Tour title has continued to elude her, Boutier remains focused on the positives she’s seen this year from her game and will be leaning on that as she looks to become the winningest French player on Tour at an event that means so much.
“I try to keep (thinking of) the positives. Even though I've come close a few times, I feel like it could be a bad thing because I haven't been able to win, but at the same time, I've also been so consistent, more in the top 10 than I've ever been,” said Boutier, whose last LPGA Tour win came at the 2021 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer. “So I think it's definitely something that you have to look at and also take in, because I feel like I'm definitely getting better as a player and I feel like that's a huge positive. I know if I keep going that direction and that way, it's going to come.”