Celine Boutier had her first triumph in 2024 with a superb final round in Shenzhen on her Aramco Team Series debut; Boutier beat China's Xiyu Lin by two shots with 19 under overall; Switzerland's Chira Tamburlini and France's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard tied for third on 16 under
Sunday 6 October 2024 11:21, UK
Celine Boutier won her first Aramco Team Series event on debut in Shenzhen after holding off home star Xiyu Lin.
Boutier and Lin went into the final round level pegging, but the French golfer's bogey-free seven under gave her the victory by two shots.
It is the first title for Boutier in 2024 and comes ahead of the LPGA swing in Asia, with four events over the next four weeks, starting with the LPGA Shanghai - live on Sky Sports Golf on Thursday from 6am.
"It was a great round and it was fun to battle it out. I'm very happy with my round," said Boutier.
"I wished a few putts dropped but I'm happy with how I handled today. It was close the whole day. You definitely had to be on your toes until the end and I was very happy with the last two holes.
"I played solid from start to finish and felt confident over the last two days."
Lin made an excellent start to the final round with three consecutive birdies to move two clear of Boutier, who birdied the second with a brilliant approach shot onto the green.
The pair shared a birdie each over the next three holes before Boutier made her move with a hat-trick of birdies over the seventh, eighth and ninth to take a one shot lead into the back nine.
A bogey on the 15th for Lin proved costly as it gave Boutier some breathing room and the 30-year-old held her nerve to win for a sixth time on the Ladies European Tour.
On Saturday, Team Tamburlini secured a one-stroke victory in the team event as Switzerland's Chiara Tamburlini, South Africa's Lee-Anne Pace, China's Qianhui Lin and amateur Yanxuan Peng took the win.
Watch LPGA Shanghai n live on Sky Sports Golf on Thursday from 6am. Stream the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and more with NOW
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
