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Boutier wins Evian
Celine Boutier claims her first major in front of home crowd, Lee Hodges runs away from the field at the 3M, Trace Crowe wins playoff in Glenview
Jack Middlebrook
July 31, 2023
Winnerโs Circle
3M Open
Evian Championship
Japan PGA Championship
NV5 Invitational
Rakuten Super Ladies
Evian Championship
Celine Boutier won her first major with an impressive six-shot victory at the Evian. Boutier is the first Frenchwoman to take home the Evian title and the third Frenchwoman to win a major.
The newest major champion!
@celineboutier gets it done in her home country ๐ซ๐ท twitter.com/i/web/status/1โฆ
โ LPGA (@LPGA)
2:59 PM โข Jul 30, 2023
Starting Sunday with a solid three-shot lead, Boutier extended her lead early by making three birdies in the first five holes. After her early birdies, she cruised the rest of the way on Sunday, consistently hitting greens and keeping her distance from the rest of the field.
Boutierโs win is her fourth on the LPGA tour to go along with four victories on the Ladies European Tour in her career. She will surely make another strong addition to the European Solheim Cup team later this year.
Canada's Brooke Henderson finished second, earning herself a cool $586,000. Henderson, the defending champion, had a strong showing but couldn't catch up to the indomitable Boutier.
The group tied for third included A Lim Kim, Nasa Hataoka, Yuka Saso, Celine Borge, and Gaby Lopez, all making a significant impact on the leaderboard but none getting close enough to catch Boutier. A special mention to the Norwegian Borge, who shot a final round 68 and earned her best finish in a major.
Atthaya Thitikul shot a final round 65, the low round of the day, to jump inside the top 10.
Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang also made it into the top ten finishing at five under for the week.
PGA Tour - 3M Open
Lee Hodges stole the show at the 3M Open, claiming his first PGA Tour victory. The American's commanding performance, which included two eagles in the final round, saw him set a new tournament record of 24 under par. Hodges went wire-to-wire after opening with an 8-under 63 on Thursday and never looked back.
While Hodges' victory was a standout performance, it wasn't the only drama on display at TPC Twin Cities. Aggressive play on the final hole by JT Poston cost him $260,000 after he made a triple bogey, pulling him back to tie for second with Kevin Streelman and Martin Laird at 17 under.
Beau Hossler matched the course record with a final round 62, catapulting him into a tie for 13th place.
Japan Golf Tour - Japan PGA Championship
Kensei Hirata claimed victory at the Japan PGA Championship, staking his claim in the record books as the youngest winner in the tournament's history at the ripe age of 22. The win is Hirataโs second of the year after his win at the Mizuno Open earlier in the year.
Takumi Kanaya and Taiga Semikawa, tied for second place, each finishing two back of the lead. Despite a rocky start, Kanaya bounced back with an impressive 66 in the third round, and Semikawa, carded under-par rounds across the tournament.
Korn Ferry Tour - NV5 Invitational
In the NV5 Invitational at The Glen Club, Trace Crowe emerged victorious in a playoff, defeating Patrick Fishburn on the second playoff hole. Despite an early triple bogey in his final round, Crowe rallied back in a stellar performance, marking his first top-10 finish of the year. Fishburn, despite losing the playoff, performed well throughout the tournament and made an eagle at the last to get into the playoff.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart finished with two birdies to get into a tie for tenth and extend his streak of top-10 finishes to six.
Japan LPGA - Rakuten Super Ladies
In the Rakuten Super Ladies golf tournament, Kokona Sakurai claimed her second win in her rookie season on the Japan LPGA. She shot a bogey-free 66 on Sunday to win by one stroke.