Victor Perez came close to delivering what the home French crowd desired last week during the men's golf competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But while Perez fell one spot short of medaling after a wild Sunday charge, fellow French golfer Celine Boutier may be on the verge of something even more special on the women's side at Le Golf National.
Boutier, buoyed by still-rabid French fans on Wednesday as the women's event got underway, shot a 7-under 65 in the first round. She leads by three over South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai and by five over four other golfers, including the United States' Lilia Vu.
As far as big-time tournament golf goes, Wednesday was a statement round from Boutier.
"I'm really over the moon with the way the tournament started for me," she said.. "Definitely wasn't sure what to expect today, but I was able to take advantage of a few opportunities out there. So, I definitely feel good about my round and hopefully keep going for the next few days."
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 7, 2024Celine Boutier CHIPS IN for birdie and a three-shot lead! 🇫🇷😨
📺 Golf Channel and Peaco*ck | #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/h56lUSalPC
Perez said he started feeling the pressure last week once he neared the lead in the final round, something Boutier will now have to deal with for the next three days of play at Le Golf National.
"Yeah, it's definitely challenging, and it's definitely not something I'm really used to from what I usually experience on the LPGA," Boutier said of the crowds. "So, it's nice to have that much support. I definitely think that coming last weekend, being able to watch some of the men's round and their tee shots and stuff first definitely helped me out just because I was able to kind of see the support and the crowd that they got and was able to help prepare myself for today and for the rest of the week.
"It's definitely challenging, but I try to focus on my game. And it's such a tough course that you have to focus on your game. You can't just look around and, you know, laugh with the crowd. So, it's definitely nice to have some support, but you definitely have to focus out there.
Boutier is now a 19/10 favorite to win the gold medal in her home country. Any medal this week for Boutier, a six-time LPGA winner and major champion, would be France's first on either the men's or women's side. Golf has only been back in the Olympics since 2016, but in that window, the French are medal-less.
Yes, Le Golf National is a difficult track, and yes, only 12 golfers broke par Wednesday. But winning gold in her home country this weekend with a big lead, loads of stars tracking just behind her and trouble lurking everywhere? In some ways, though, this 65 and big advantage on the leaderboard was the easy part.
The difficult part will be trying to keep it.
Americans hang tough
In addition to Vu's 2-under 70, Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang both shot even-par 72s to sit seven back of the lead and two off the podium; however, they put together those rounds in different ways.
Zhang made three birdies and three bogeys but was never more than 1 over on her round. She closed with four consecutive pars. Conversely, Korda was 3 over through her first even holes. She then birdied three of her next seven to get her round back to even, and like Zhang, parred the last four coming in.
When asked if she was panicked after getting to 3 over quickly, Korda shook her head.
"I just got into the mindset of one shot at a time," she said. "I was just trying to figure out the basics of just hitting my shots. The putting ... I was hitting them a little short, too, expecting a release from my longer irons but [the greens] just weren't releasing either because they were much softer than what I was practicing yesterday. So overall, it just took a little bit to adjust but adjusted well on the back nine."
Lydia Ko watch
The New Zealander is the only golfer -- male or female -- to medal in both 2016 and 2021. She's going for three in a row this week, and a gold medal would get her into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She also shot even-par 72 on Wednesday needing a birdie at the last.
If Boutier runs away, Ko will not have a shot at gold. However, with only one other golfer better than 2 under, Ko is completely in the mix if Boutier comes back to the field at all. At the least, her medal streak and the Hall of Fame possibilities -- only 34 women have ever made it -- will be interesting subplots to track.
Crowds still rule
Following the men's event, there was some question about whether fans would attend at the same level. The answer Wednesday was a resounding, "Yes!"
"I saw the crowds for the men, and to see the similar crowds for the women is just kind of for me mind-blowing," Korda said. "I wasn't sure what to expect walking on to that first tee, and obviously my first view was the tee. Then I kind of looked out to the green and I just saw like four people deep, and I told [caddie] Jason [McDede], I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is absolutely amazing.' Like I did not expect this many people to come out and support everyone out here."
