Anyone watching the conclusion of the Aramo Team Series of Shenzhen on television with the sound off and without checking the leaderboard would find it very difficult to guess who won the title.
That is Celine Boutier (-19), the champion of the 2024 edition. She remains unfazed, doesn’t smile, but performs her task brilliantly. Only when Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (-16) jumped onto the green and showered her with champagne did she manage to crack a smile, and even then, only because some got in her eye and she quickly asked her to stop. Celine Boutier at her finest.
So, how do you win a tournament? Like this, in the style of the Evian Championship 2023 champion, with a round of seven under par and no bogeys all day. The Frenchwoman triumphs again in China, the country where she first won in her career on the Ladies European Tour. When things don’t go as one would like, returning to one’s roots always helps, and Celine reconnects with victory in the same country that first elevated her, after twelve months where she struggled to bring out her best form.
The Frenchwoman won by two strokes ahead of Xiyu Lin (-17). The local player and defending champion wanted to offer her public a victory that slipped from her grasp on the 15th hole. Until that moment, she was just one stroke behind and felt it could go either way. In fact, Lin took the lead at the start with three consecutive birdies. Celine, with patience and a strong finish to the first nine, regained control. She wouldn’t let it go again. The local defence held until the aforementioned 15th hole. On that par 3, the Chinese player missed her first green in regulation of the day, going into the right rough, and by millimetres, couldn’t complete the recovery from there. Two strokes she wouldn’t be able to make up.
Chiara Tamburlini (-16) continues to achieve great results, and after last week’s victory and the win in this team tournament, she finished third after delivering the best round of the day at eight under par. The rookie extends her lead in the annual ranking to 600 points over Belgian Manon de Roey, her closest pursuer. More than a victory’s distance with four tournaments left to play.
Tied in this event with Chiara and also with a final round of 65 strokes, the Frenchwoman Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (-16) finished, who, like the Swiss player, is sealing a spectacular end to the season. She is now third in the Order of Merit.
Ana Peláez (-9) was the best Spaniard. She signed a final round of 70 strokes with three birdies without error. She was just outside the top ten, just one stroke away. It would have been the fourth in just nine regular tournaments she has played this season on the tour.
Of the other Spaniards, Marta Martín finished in 34th place and María Hernández (-3) one stroke behind. Carmen Alonso (+1) and Nuria Iturrioz couldn’t finish the tournament as they would have liked and ended in 57th and 59th places, respectively.
