Frenchwoman Celine Boutier and Japan's Yuka Saso opened their week at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational with a bogey-free, 5-under 65 on Wednesday, a round that was good enough to put them one back of the early lead following the first day of alternate shot competition. The pair shot out of the gate, making back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes, then grabbing another on the par-3 7th hole to turn in 32. Another birdie on No. 10 moved Boutier and Saso to 4-under, and after rattling off seven straight pars, they closed with a birdie on the par-3 18th to finish at 5-under overall and sit in a tie for second after round one.
“I think it worked out well,” said Boutier, who has one win and two additional top-five finishes on her 2023 resume. “Whenever one was missing, the other one was making up for it, and I feel like, yeah, Yuka had some really solid par putts, especially in the middle of the round and stuff, so that kept us going, and it worked out really well today.”
Boutier and Saso both have experience with team play as the former is a two-time European Solheim Cup team member and the latter represented Japan at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown earlier this season. Their partnership isn’t one that many may have anticipated seeing this week in Michigan, but it seems like it’s working well so far for the dynamic duo, who ham-and-egged it pretty well on day one at Midland Country Club.
“I forced her,” said Saso when asked how she and Boutier decided to be DOW GLBI partners. But Boutier didn’t need much convincing. “I think we were talking about partnering a little bit,” said the three-time LPGA Tour winner. “But I wasn't sure if she was joking or if she was being serious. So it's always awkward because you don't want to be rejected, right? I was kind of like tiptoeing my way around, and finally we just decided to play together.”
And Saso would never turn down the opportunity. “Who would say no to Celine Boutier?”
As they look ahead to switching formats from alternate shot to four-ball on Thursday, Boutier and Saso are hoping that once again their combination of skillsets will result in another low number. The Dow GLBI is all about how each player’s game compliments their partner’s, and Boutier and Saso’s fusion of precision and distance, of aggressive and reserved golf just might prove to be a winning formula come Saturday in the Great Lake State.
“I feel like (Yuka is) pretty aggressive in general, and then I feel like she has her length,” said Boutier. “She'll definitely be the one going for things, and I'm just going to lay up and then with two putts. We'll see. I think we have pretty good games for both, and like I said, she's pretty aggressive and accurate, so I think it's going to be fun.”
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