Celine Boutier, after a shaky start to the final round, regrouped to win the ISPS Handa Vic Open by two shots over three players for her inaugural win on the LPGA Tour.
Boutier triumphed in the mixed-gender event that was a collaboration of the LPGA Tour, European Tour, PGA of Australia and Australian Ladies Professional Golf. In the process, she also became the fourth French golfer to win on the LPGA and the first since 2003.
Boutier’s performance was keyed by the long and short end of her bag. Off the tee Boutier produced a whopping 299-yard average off the tee (albeit on a course that was producing eye-popping distances for most players) while also hitting 46 of 56 fairways with her 9-degree PXG XX driver. The XX has nine weights in the sole, with three weights in the front, back and heel side of the sole. From photos it appears Boutier opted to put a lighter weight in the heel to mitigate any draw bias.
On the greens, Boutier was clutch when she needed it most, using her Odyssey Works Big T V-Line putter to hole a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th and following that up with key 10-footers for par on the 16th and 17th to maintain her two-shot cushion, eventually finishing with a final-round 72.
“I’m happy with the way I handled myself today,” Boutier said. “I was struggling a little bit in the beginning, but I just held on and kept fighting until the end.”
What Celine Boutier had in the bag at the ISPS Handa Vic Open
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: PXG XX, 9 degrees
3-wood: PXG 0341X, 15 degrees
Hybrid: PXG 0317X, 19 degrees
Irons (4-PW): TaylorMade P770
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (50, 60 degrees); PXG 0311 (56 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey Works Big T V-Line
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