Boutier follows major win with title in Scotland

Celine Boutier won the Women’s Scottish Open by 2 strokes Sunday to back up her victory at the Evian Championship last week for her first major title.

The No. 4-ranked French player shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to clinch back-to-back wins and will head into next week’s Women’s British Open at Walton Heath in southern England with plenty of confidence.

“It’s completely crazy,” Boutier said about her back-to-back wins. “I would have never imagined that I would be able to win not one, but two tournaments in a row, and yeah, I’m just incredibly in shock.”

Boutier became the first LPGA golfer since Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 to follow a major championship victory with a win in the following tournament. She also became the first to win consecutive tournaments on Tour since Jin Young Ko in 2021 at the Cognizant Founders Cup and BMW Ladies Championship.

She led by 3 shots after the third round and maintained that advantage heading down the stretch before making bogey at Nos. 14 and 16. When Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea birdied the last hole to post a 65 and set a target at 13 under overall, Boutier’s lead was down to 1 stroke.

However, Boutier curled in a long right-to-left putt on No. 17 and was able to walk down the par-5 18th at Dundonald Links in some comfort. She tapped in for par to finish at 15-under 273 and win for the third time in 2023, having also captured the title at the LPGA Drive On Championship in March.

“To be honest, I was so tired early in the week and trying to get through each round and trying to do my best,” Boutier said. “Being able to be in contention over the weekend, especially today, was definitely a huge bonus.”

Kim was second while Ruoning Yin of China (66) was a shot further behind in third.

Sweden’s Maja Stark recorded an ace on the par-3, 142-yard sixth hole to finish at 71 for the day and 11-under for the tournament. She tied South Korea’s A Lim Kim (66) for fourth place.

“I really want to finish top 10 or top five or like I was just there and I just played 18 holes, which honestly feels really good to have done that and it’s been a while since I’ve felt like that on the course being in contention,” Stark said. “I mean, it’s only fifth or whatever, but for me, it’s a huge win.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.