THE AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 27, 2023

Celine Boutier

Evian Resort Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Early start for you, wasn't it? But looked like it was worth the early wake-up call. Six birdies and the one dropped shot. Just sum up your day.

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, very solid first round for me. I feel like I handled the course pretty well. I didn't hit too many rough so it was a little bit easier to hit the greens and have more birdie chances.

Yeah, overall very satisfied with my round.

Q. This is your seventh start at the Evian. What a beautiful venue; you best finish being in the top 29th spot. What is it that the golf course demands from your game?

CELINE BOUTIER: I think it's very demanding off the tee. I feel like it's pretty intimidating because there is slopes everywhere so I feel like it's a little bit more narrow than it looks.

But, yeah, and then once you hit the fairway I feel like the greens are so slopey as well you have to place where you ball really well on the greens. I so feel like the more you play to the more you feel comfortable with it. I feel like the fact that I played it a few times already makes me feel a little bit more confident this time around.

Q. Home is five and a half hours away, but you're still playing on home soil. Describe the atmosphere out there.

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, it was really fun to be able to see so many fans following. It's a little bit more support than I normally get on tour so definitely very nice.

I definitely tried to enjoy it as much as I can.

Q. Memorable day out there, to be able to take advantage of those optimal conditions. What was the first day like for you overall?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, it was a very solid day from start to finish. I feel like I definitely gave myself a bunch of birdie opportunities and I hit a lot of fairways, so I feel like I was really able to get off to a good start.

Definitely finished the round also very solid with two birdies on the last two par-5s, so very -- yeah, very happy with my round.

Q. What is it about the last two par-5s that suited your game so well today? How were you able to take advantage of those birdie opportunities?

CELINE BOUTIER: Yeah, I mean, I just hit a really solid wedge shot on 7, which was my 16th, and kind of had a tap-in for birdie.

Then I had a pretty solid drive also on 9, which kind of enabled me to go into the front bunker with my second shot and was able to get up and down from there.

So it was just the right opportunities and the right shots I guess.

Q. We talked yesterday about your family being here, being able to have your close-knit family here; your twin sister is here. What is it like having them, and does she watch you every time you come to Evian?

CELINE BOUTIER: No. She's only come once in the past, and, yeah, it's very nice to be able to share this week with them. I definitely feel like I haven't perform my best in the past at this tournament, so I'm just really eager to like try to change that this year.

Q. Playing at home, everybody knows it's hard. How have you been able to treat this like any other event out here?

CELINE BOUTIER: Honestly you play mind games with yourself. You just tell yourself you're not at home. (Laughter.)

Honestly, not overthink it. Try to like think like a normal tournament and just approach the course like a regular course, if that makes sense. Instead of just being like over-cautious or like over-dramatic. I feel like especially on this course it's easy to do because there is so much like I feel danger zones everywhere.

It's really easy to get wrapped into that. This year I just decided to I guess try to approach it as a regular event.

Q. With the conditions in the past, really firm and fast out here, did the little bit damper make it a little bit less intimidating with those trouble areas?

CELINE BOUTIER: I think so, because it's a little bit easier to stop it on the greens and it's not like bouncing everywhere on the slopes.

So, yeah, I feel like it's definitely helped me a little bit. I mean, there is definitely a little bit long or shots, too because you don't get as much roll-out on the drives.

Overall the fact that it's a bit softer it's definitely helpful.

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