By: Max Bechtoldt
World No. 3 Celine Boutier looked elite in her second round performance at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, shooting a -8 64 to take a one stroke lead heading into the weekend.
Unsurprisingly, Boutier dominated in two areas, accuracy and putting. Boutier hit 13/14 fairways and had only 22 putts in route to the best score of the tournament so far. In total, Boutier had eight birdies and no bogeys.
Boutier is looking for her first win of the season, coming off her fantastic 2023. In 2023, Boutier finished in second for player of the year, winning four tournaments and her first career major, in her home country France. She no doubt will be looking for momentum all season with the Olympics being played in Paris.
Boutier wasn’t the only player to go low, as Ayaka Furue continued her strong play. Furue shot -5 67 to grab a hold of solo second place at -6 for the event. Furue already has two top-five finishes this year at the Tournament of Champions and the Drive On Championship.
In solo third is Madelene Sagström at -5 overall, looking for another strong finish after finishing in the top 10 last weekend in Thailand. The more top-10s Sagström can accumulate, the better her odds at making the European Solheim Cup team.
The third round will air on Golf Channel and Peacock tonight at 9:30 P.M. est.
