Le Golf National is indeed a rather difficult course. With narrow fairways, gnarly rough, unpredicted green complexes, numerous water hazards, and one of the toughest closing stretches in the world, the Albatros Course has a slope rating of 155. It is the highest rating that a course can be given. Struggling here is pretty much unavoidable.

As the men’s Olympic golf competition concluded on Sunday, with Scottie Scheffler taking away the gold medal, a two-day break preceded the start of the women’s championship. With the opening round, the course difficulty was pretty evident.

More than half of the 60-player field carded an over-par round. This includes pros like Charley Hull and Leona Maguire. If there is a cutline at the Olympics, they will not be able to proceed further, so what lies in their fate?

Fortunately, there is no cutline for the Olympic event! So for the likes of Maguire, who is currently at T50, with a score of 6-over 78, tied with six other golfers, she has the chance to tee off until the final round at the City of Lights. The women’s Olympic golf competition follows the same play format as the men’s and features a 72-hole stroke play format over four rounds. This is pretty similar to the ones that are played on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.

On the other hand, Charley Hull is almost about to touch the bottom with a 58 finish in the opening round. She carded a disappointing round of 9 over 81. But they still have three more rounds to gear up and make it to the top!

While most of the players struggled their way through, French golfer Celine Boutier could not have given a more magical round, and that too in front of her home crowd! But the question is, will she be able to keep up the momentum throughout to clinch the trophy? Or will someone come and sweep it over at the last moment, just like Scheffler?

The dream start for Celine Boutier

While most of the golfers failed to even make an even par round, Celine Boutier was one of the only two golfers to have a score below 70. She carded a whopping 7-under-65 in the first round, which is pretty impressive given that it was played at Le Golf National. She bagged five birdies, which included back-to-back three birdies through holes 14 and 16, to secure the lead ahead of the 2022 Women’s Open Champion, Ashleigh Buhai.

It was Boutier’s putting skills that helped her stand out during the first round. The French national made putts totaling up to 123 feet, placing her at the top of the field, and she gained almost five strokes. This gave her a three-stroke lead. This is by far the best performance she has given on the greens since February! Nonetheless, it is the match statistics that have kept her humble. “It’s always nice to get a good start, but I also know that it’s still a long way to go and I have to focus on the next round,” shared a happy Boutier.

What do you think fate holds for her through the next three rounds? Stay tuned to find out!