Celine Boutier Leads Evian Championship After Wind-Affected Second Round

Celine Boutier leads the Amundi Evian Championship heading into the weekend to the delight of the home crowd at Evian Golf Resort in France.

On a day where wind played havoc, Boutier finished with a 69 to lead by one at seven-under heading into Moving Day following a round that included two bogeys and four birdies.

Boutier is yet to win a Major, and has particularly struggled in the tournament in her homeland, and she admitted she’s put too much pressure on herself in the past. Following her round, she said: “Yeah, it's definitely not easy. I feel like in the past I've definitely, you know, not handled it very well.

“I just feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself because I don't want to disappoint anybody. If I learned anything from the past, I really have to just focus on the job and on the course, on each shot. I feel like that's really helped me really stay focused and not get ahead or think too much about the plans.”

If Boutier is to claim her maiden Major title this week, she will have to overcome stiff competition from the likes of 2021 Chevron Championship winner Patty Tavatanakit and 2021 US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso, who are tied for second.

Not far behind them is defending champion Brooke Henderson, who goes into the third round four behind the leader. She described the conditions as “super tough” and continued: “It was very windy and this course is not meant for windy conditions, so really had to play as smart as we could out there.”

Other high-profile players in the reckoning include a clutch of stars five behind the leader, featuring World No.1 Jin Young Ko, 2021 champion Minjee Lee, the LET’s Race to the Costa Del Sol champion Linn Grant and rising star Rose Zhang.

Several big-name players won’t be making it as far as the weekend’s action. They include Charley Hull, who finished T3 last year, KPMG Women’s PGA Champion Ruoning Yin, Major winners Danielle Kang and Hannah Green and Xiyu Lin, who currently ranks 10th in the world.

Elsewhere, Spaniard Carlota Ciganda was given a two-shot penalty for slow play but refused to add it to her signed scorecard, which led to disqualification.