Celine Boutier has claimed it was a 'dream come true' to win her first Major title at the Amundi Evian Championship but admitted the pressure of playing on home soil has held her back from performing at her best in the past.
The 29-year-old cruised to a six shot victory on Sunday afternoon following a dominant display that saw her card a final round 68 to become the first French golfer to win at the tournament.
It is her second win on the LPGA Tour this season, after she clinched the Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club back in March, ending a year's wait for a trophy on the women's circuit.
She was cheered on by a raucous home crowd, but speaking ahead of the Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, she admitted the pressure to perform at her home Major had prevented her from playing well at the Evian Resort Golf Club in the past.
"It's hard to believe but I never really pictured how it was going to happen," Boutier said.
"It was just such a dream, I wouldn't even call it a goal for me this year. I obviously wanted to perform well in the Majors. But in the past I was never really able to play well in Evian.
"The pressure of everything was a lot to handle and this year I just decided to really do it for myself and not put so much pressure on myself and the fact that I even had the chance to play for the win on the final round was already a big achievement for me.
She would march down the 18th fairway, comfortably clear of her closest challenger, Brooke Henderson, soaking up the atmosphere before wrapping herself in a French flag and hoisting the trophy high into the air.
"Then to pull it off on the final day, to have the crowd behind me, which I never imagined that they would never be so loud, energetic and passionate about it - it felt like a win for me but it felt like a win for them as well," Boutier, who has won four times on the LPGA Tour, said.
"So to be able to share it with everyone in my home country is just an absolute dream come true.
"I think because I was leading, I think people were kind of expecting me to do it.
"That was probably the hardest [thing]. The fact that also they wanted it probably as much as I did and I didn't want to disappoint anybody.
"So that's also something I had to kind of put aside and not really think about it too much to be able to play my best."
Boutier has struggled with indifferent form at the Evian Championship in the past, with a T29 placing being her highest finish at the tournament, while also notably missing the cut at last year's event.
But there was an outpouring of elation as soon as she tapped in her final putt, and she was also drenched in a shower of champagne on the 18th green.
"Honestly just watching the final putt and just the amount of champagne that got poured on me was pretty mind blowing," she said. "I didn't realise it was going to be that much.
"Yeah it did look like a lot and felt like a lot and just kind of watching it back was really fun," Boutier added, admitting that the past few days since winning have been "overwhelming".
"I think winning at any level is difficult, especially on the LPGA Tours - the talent is just unbelievable and it is very hard to be able to pull it off.
"To be able to do it in the Major conditions is even harder because of the pressure, because of what it means, because of the history.
ALLEZ CELINE! 🇫🇷🍾The glorious moment Celine Boutier became the first to win the @EvianChamp on home soil. pic.twitter.com/gEx1YyKYw9July 30, 2023
"The fact that I even had the chance to play for the win on Sunday was already a big win for me and to have the crowd behind me definitely carried me a little bit."
The World No.4 now sits top of the Race To CME Globe rankings and is targeting another triumph at the Women's Scottish Open this week, noting that winning in Scotland, the home of golf, was one of her career ambitions.
"That would be unbelievable," she said when asked if she could go back-to-back with wins at Dundonald Links. "I feel like Scotland is the home of golf.
"So it would definitely be a goal of mine to win in Scotland for sure during my career. Any opportunity I have to play for the win I will try to seize it and do my best."
