It’s been a special Olympics for host nation France, not only have their athletes performed with aplomb, but Paris has been rejuvenated and the atmospheres across all of the Olympic venues has been truly special.
At these games golf has come alive. Previously raising eyebrows over its inclusion within the Olympic programme, the thrilling finish of the men’s competition proved that golf and the Olympics could co-exist and that positive momentum has spilled over to the women’s event.
Yesterday at Le Golf National, the course was abuzz with excitement as France’s own, Celine Boutier holds a commanding lead after the completion of the first round.
On a day where some of the best players in the female game greatly struggled, here are the talking points from an action packed day.
Boutier Leads The way, The Frenchwoman Will Have High Hopes of Stretching Further Clear
Coming into the Olympics as the highest ranked European, it perhaps isn’t surprising that a player of Celine Boutier’s class is leading the way after the first round.
However, given the expectation on her shoulders to perform in front of an expectant home crowd, her first round score of -7, was remarkable.
Boutier has long had a reputation for being able to keep calm and composed and these traits were on full display yesterday.
Starting her round in the middle of the day, her round ignited on the par 5 third hole as she picked up her first shot of the day. Further birdies would follow on the 5th and 6th and making the turn on -3, the early tournament lead was hers.
With the crowd delighted that one of their own had climbed to the top of the early leaderboard, Boutier would ride the wave of optimism, picking up further shots on ten and eleven.
A first bogey of the day would follow on 12, but she showed all of her class to pick up a trio of birdies on 14, 15 and 16.
Holding a big lead, she navigated the tricky 17th and 18th holes in level par, ensuring that she would end the first day holding a three stroke lead.
Boutier has won some of the games biggest events but is unlikely to have come close to experiencing the pressure of winning a gold medal at a home games.
Set to be the main attraction out on the course today, it will be fascinating to see how she handles both the pressure and occasion as she looks to move even further clear of the chasing pack.
Buhai Leads The Chasing Pack
Boutier’s nearest challenger is the South African, Ashleigh Buhai.
Sitting on -4, three strokes behind the Frenchwoman, Buhai flew into this week firmly under the radar but was able to offer the golfing world a timely reminder of her talents yesterday.
Having racked up 22 wins around the world, including two on the LPGA Tour and the 2022 Women’s Open, Buhai is certainly no stranger to success and is used to the surroundings she finds herself in after round 1.
Like Boutier, Buhai was able to get her campaign for gold off to a fast start as she birdied the first hole. As many showed yesterday, with tests on almost every hole a round can quickly unravel, but the South African would have her game face on as she would only drop one shot all day with a bogey on the 4th.
She would respond with four birdies and would ensure that she would end the day firmly in the hunt for the medals. Currently second place is all hers and she has a nice two shot gap to the rest of the field.
Buhai is a seasoned professional and won’t be phased by the challenge that awaits today. Needing to ensure she stays on Boutier’s coattails but doesn’t let those hunting her silver medal down, today is sure to be a challenging one.
Le Golf National Grits its Teeth as Several Big Names Struggle
With Le Golf National’s tight fairways, thick rough and abundance of water challenges, over the years it has shown that it can be difficult for any golfer to master and that was the case yesterday as a host of star names struggled.
Heading into the opening round the favourite for glory was Nelly Korda. The winner of the gold medal at the delayed 2020 Tokyo games, Korda is aiming to become the first player in either the men’s or women’s game to win multiple Olympic medals.
After a rough and nervy start to her round yesterday, Korda made the turn three over, but responded magnificently on her back nine to finish the day at level par.
Seven shots off the lead, Korda isn’t out of the gold medal hunt but she will need to play flawless golf over the next three days or hope that Boutier starts to feel the pressure of leading.
Lillia Vu headed into the Games as the world number two and PGA Champion but like Korda she found things tough yesterday and finished her opening round on a score of -1.
With a six shot deficit to make up over the next few days, she is another who needs to find her best game quickly. Clearly capable, she will hope to make a fast start to get herself back into gold medal contention.
Much was expected of Brooke Henderson and heading into Paris she was considered one of Canada’s main medal hopes. Whilst a medal isn’t out of the question, her bid for gold might be following an opening round of +2.
Nine off the lead, there is much work to be done today.
Tommy Fleetwood was able to secure silver for Team GB in the men’s competition and Charley Hull was hoping to go one place better in the women’s.
As we pointed out in our preview, Hull only has one style of playing and if her radar is off, tough days usually follow. That was certainly the case yesterday. Carding a disappointing +9 opening round, only two players sit below Hull on the leaderboard. Feeling the full force of Le Golf National, her medal chances already lie in ruin.
Round 2 Betting Guide.
If you fancy a flutter today, here are the top ten in the betting heading into round 2.
CELINE BOUTIER - 2/1
NELLY KORDA - 11/2
LILLIA VU - 6/1
ATTHAYA THITIKUL - 12/1
ASHLEIGH BUHAI - 14/1
MINJEE LEE - 14/1
MIYUU YAMASHITA - 14/1
ROSE ZHANG - 18/1
XIYU LIN - 18/1
JIN YOUNG KO - 22/1
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
