GUYANCOURT, France — Celine Boutier raced into an early lead as the women’s golf competition at the Paris Games got under way on Wednesday after the main home country medal hope negotiated a tricky course better than other favorites like defending champion Nelly Korda.
The women’s tournament will follow the same format as the men’s contest won by American Scottie Scheffler on Sunday, with 60 participants teeing off for a 72-hole, stroke-play contest over four days at Le Golf National south of Paris.
France’s Boutier responded to cheers from home fans and was at 7 under par after 17 holes having recorded seven birdies and one bogey, five shots ahead of Lilia Vu, the American World No. 2 playing alongside the Frenchwoman.
Boutier, who bagged her first major title last year on home soil at the Evian Championship, is seeking to outdo Victor Perez who thrilled French fans with a dazzling final round on Sunday to take fourth place in the men’s competition.
Other early contenders out on the course included South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai at 4 under. Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe finished 2 under. Uribe is aiming for a glorious finale to her career that she has decided to end at the Paris Games.
Tokyo gold medalist Korda, the World No. 1, shot a level-par round of 72 as she recovered from three early bogies.
“The greens were just so completely different, just from the practice green to the golf course, they were a lot slower,” Korda told reporters. “Overall, it just took a little bit to adjust, but I adjusted well on the back nine.”
Australia’s Hannah Green, another top 10 player, also pointed to the difficulty of reading the greens as she labored to a five-over par round with no birdies.
Britain’s Charley Hull was near the bottom of the leaderboard with a nine-over par round.
The world number 11 put her performance down to rustiness as she returned from a shoulder injury, brushing off the idea an Olympic ban on smoking had disadvantaged the player known for puffing on courses.
As in Tokyo, Boutier is representing France alongside Perrine Delacour, who said the emotion of hitting the first tee-shot of the competition drained her and contributed to a disappointing 7 over par.
–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media
