Duke’s Boutier and France sit in third place at World Amateur Team Championships

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke Blue Devils golfer Celine Boutier is representing France at the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC) taking place in Karuizawa, Japan from Sept. 3-6.

The championship is conducted by the International Golf Federation and hosted by the Japan Golf Association and is being played at Karuizawa 72 Golf East – Iriyama and Oshitate Courses.

Following first-round play, Boutier posted a score of 71 and combined with teammate Mathilda Cappeliez’s finish of 69 put France in third place at 4-under (140) in the 50-team/country competition.

Heading into the tournament, Boutier was ranked fifth in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Gurbani Singh, a new teammate of Boutier’s at Duke, also traveled to compete in Japan and is representing India.

Singh’s first-round score of 72 helped put India one stroke behind France, tied with Ireland and Italy, who also carded combined scores of 141.

Boutier, a junior from Montrouge, France, is continuing a productive season during which she won the 2014 NCAA championship with Duke in May, played in the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst in June, and represented France at the European Ladies Amateur Team Championship in Slovenia in July.

As an incoming freshman at Duke, Singh hails from New Delhi, India, and is a two-time winner of the All-India Junior Golf Championship and possesses 16 amateur titles and numerous junior championships to her credit in her home country.

Following play in the WATC, Boutier and Singh will return to Durham to compete in the Blue Devils’ 2014 Fall opener, Sept. 14-16. in Charleston, S.C.

2014 IGF Women’s World Amateur Team Championship

First round results

1. Canada (CAN) – 135 – Brooke Henderson 30-36—66; Augusta James 32-37—69; Brittany Marchand 33-38–71

2. Republic of Korea (KOR) – 137 – So-Young Lee 33-34—67; Hye-Jin Choi 35-35—70; Gyeol Park 37-38–75

3. France (FRA) – 140 – Mathilda Cappeliez 33-36—69; Celine Boutier 35-36—71; Manon Gidali 35-38–73

T4. India (IND) – 141 – Aditi Ashok 35-34—69; Gurbani Singh 37-35—72; Astha Madan 38-37—75

Full WATC Results