Celine Boutier prepared to lead Europe to third straight Solheim Cup victory
Ahead of the 18th Solheim Cup in Spain, Frenchwoman Celine Boutier spoke with the media about her preparations.
Celine Boutier has had an incredible summer.
She won the Amundi Evian Championship in her native France to win her first major championship and then triumphed at the Women’s Scottish Open the very next week.
This success has given Boutier the distinction of being the highest-ranked European player in the world—she is currently 5th in the Rolex World Rankings.
But her sensational summer is in the rearview mirror as the attention turns to the Solheim Cup in Spain.
“I think each victory is a little bit different,” Boutier explained.
“There’s no one way to think about it. Obviously, as a team, the victory would be very different this week than it is on a normal tournament week. But it’s all good. Just because we have 12 players and the captains and vice captains this week, the emotions are much stronger.
The Europeans have won two straight Solheim Cups, with the last coming at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in 2021.
Boutier, an excellent match-play player, was a part of both teams.
Her 5-1-1 Solheim Cup record rivals that of Justin Thomas, who has a 6-2-1 record in the Ryder Cup.
In 2019, as a rookie, Boutier and Georgia Hall won three matches together as both players went 4-0-0 at Gleneagles.
“I don’t feel like, as a player, I’ve evolved that much. I feel like my game is very similar,” Boutier said when asked how her game has changed over the past few years.
“I feel like I was playing very well at Gleneagles, and I feel like being able to experience everything for the first time, and the energy and being partnered with Georgia also ended up being such a good pairing that everything just worked out in our favor.
“But as a player and as a person, I don’t feel too different. I don’t feel like my role, in particular, has changed much. I feel like I’m just trying to do my best out there and bring as many points as I can, and then the rest is really not up to us. So I’m just really trying to do my best and try to not let my teammates down.”
In 2021, Boutier kept on steamrolling the Americans, winning 5 & 4 in singles to help the Europeans fend off Team USA.
But Captain Stacy Lewis and the Americans have revenge on their minds in Spain, as they have not won since 2017.
Thus, Boutier is focused on her preparation, which is essential considering the challenging layout that Finca Cortesín has to offer. It is a target golf course that requires precision, with no better example being the 280-yard par-4 1st hole that snakes around a lake.
“We’re just trying to prepare the best we can,” Boutier said.
“I feel like everyone prepared us ahead of time, saying that it would be a very physical course... [but] it was very good to see the course [Tuesday]. I think it’s very much about placement out here. A little bit long, longer than I would have wanted, but I think it’s going to be a good challenge and a very good match-play course.”
The Solheim Cup begins Friday, Sept. 22 from Malaga, Spain. Coverage starts on Golf Channel at 2 a.m. ET.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.