Five-time LPGA Tour winner Celine Boutier is once again in the mix at the Maybank Championship after firing an 8-under 64 on Friday that saw her make one bogey and nine birdies. The 29-year-old started her day on the par-5 10th hole, stumbling with a bogey early to drop back to 1-under overall, but she quickly recovered with a birdie on the par-3 11th hole to get back to 2-under. She then carded two sets of back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 as well as 16 and 17 to move to 6-under total and made the turn in 32.
Boutier parred the first two holes of the front nine before grabbing two more birdies on holes 3 and 4, now sitting at 8-under with five holes to play. She birdied again on the par-4 6th hole to get to 9-under overall and made one last birdie on No. 8 to finish the day with a 64 and sit in a tie for third at 10-under, two back of the lead held by Jasmine Suwannapura.
The 64 ties Boutier’s second-lowest round on the LPGA Tour, and it’s the first time that the Frenchwoman has shot a round of 64 or better since day three of the 2022 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer when Boutier posted a final-round 63 to finish in a tie for ninth. The round also ties her lowest second-round score on the LPGA Tour, which she last shot at the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand, and is her lowest round of the 2023 LPGA Tour season.
While there are definitely plenty of positives to take away from her Friday effort, Boutier was most proud of her ability to maintain her composure after an early slip-up and was impressed with her ball striking on day two at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
“It was not the best start. I three-putted on my first hole, so I was not happy with my putting already on the first hole,” said Boutier, who needed 22 putts to get the job done on Friday. “Starting off with a three-putt was not great, but then I had a good birdie chance on 11, which was my second hole, and made it. That kind of gave me a little bit more of a positive outlook on the rest of the day. I had a lot of really close birdie putts. The greens are soft, so (it was) a little bit easier to just be aggressive because the ball is going to stay. I feel like if you can manage to control your distances very well, it's a lot easier when you don't have to worry about the bounces.”
This week in Malaysia marks Boutier’s 20th event of the year, and in her 19 previous starts, she has earned three victories at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain, The Amundi Evian Championship and the FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open as well as four additional top-five finishes. Because of those stellar performances, Boutier is currently leading the Race to the CME Globe over Lilia Vu by approximately 95 points and is second in the Rolex Player of the Year standings, sitting 27 points behind Vu, who is not in the field this week. She could both extend her advantage in the Race to the CME Globe and close the gap between her and Vu with a solid finish this week at the Maybank Championship.
But there are 36 holes left to play at the Maybank Championship, and Boutier will be looking to build off the momentum she found on Friday at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club as she works toward a fourth victory over the weekend in Malaysia.
“I don't even feel like my game is that different. I feel like I played really solid yesterday, just wasn't able to hole any putts. Today, I made a little bit more putts and a lot closer birdie chances,” said Boutier, who carded a 2-under 70 in round one. “I mean, how to improve on nine birdies, right? But I feel like, of course, I started with a three-putt, so that wasn't the best start. Honestly, it's hard. I feel like I played really solid, but maybe a few more putts, and that would make it even better. I'm very happy with my game, honestly.”
Another tournament and @celineboutier is in contention once again.
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 27, 2023
Check out her highlights from 8-under 64 in Round 2 of the @maybankchampion! pic.twitter.com/TUIIQGyMCo
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