Major champions Celine Boutier and Yuka Saso did something in the second round of the Dow Championship that has only been done once in the history of the annual team-play event.
After opening with a 4-over 74 in foursomes on Thursday and with their backs against the wall, Team BS pulled out all the stops on Friday at Midland Country Club, carding a 12-under 58 to claw their way back inside the cut line at the Dow Championship.
With the 58, Boutier and Saso tied the 18-hole tournament scoring record in the four-ball format, as the first and only other 58 was recorded in 2019 by Minjee Lee and Jin Young Ko during the final round of the inaugural Dow Championship.
It’s also just the seventh time in Dow Championship history that a sub-60 round has been carded, with the last instance coming in 2022 when Maria Fassi and Stacy Lewis shot 59 in the final round at Midland Country Club.
Considering how far out of the conversation the duo was at the start of the second round, sitting in a tie for 59th and 10 shots out of the lead, Boutier and Saso were incredibly pleased with their day-two comeback and can breathe a sigh of relief that they are once again playing the weekend in Midland, Mich., having finished in a tie for third last season in their debut as partners.
“It was really fun. I think we definitely complemented each other very well,” said Boutier of the team’s 58. “I started off good, and (Yuka) picked it up in the middle and then was able to finish with a birdie on nine, which was our 18th. It was definitely a very fun round, and we are just happy to be able to rally back and get a chance to play on the weekend.”
Team BS, @celineboutier and @SasoYuka_315, went looooooow for the second round ⬇️
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 28, 2024
They tied the tournament's 18-hole four-ball scoring record set in 2019 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/lnMSeWSkwJ
Starting their second round on No. 10, Boutier and Saso grabbed two birdies in their first three holes on the par-4 10th and par-4 12th holes to get back to 2-over for the tournament, collecting two more birdies on holes 15 and 18 to turn in 31 at even-par overall.
The pair turned up the heat on their closing nine, rattling off seven consecutive birdies on holes one through seven to launch themselves up the leaderboard. Team BS then parred eight before picking up one last birdie on the par-4 9th hole to post a 58 and vault from T59 to T22, just four shots back of the five co-leading teams at 8-under overall with 36 holes to play in Michigan.
“I think we just were trying to take advantage of as many opportunities as we could,” Boutier said. “Going into the back nine, we knew we needed a few more birdies. Whenever we had a chance, we definitely went for it. I didn't realize we had seven in a row until we went into (scoring). We had eight birdies out of nine, so it would have been fun to have nine in a row, but can't be too picky about that.”
Comfortability is a big thing for athletes when competing as partners, and neither Boutier nor Saso has had any trouble adjusting to their counterpart’s style of play. In fact, one could argue that it was the positive experience she had at last year’s Dow Championship that gave Boutier the momentum she needed to capture her first major title the very next week at The Amundi Evian Championship, a game-changing victory for the Frenchwoman.
And for Saso, who is seven years Boutier’s junior, it’s the 30-year-old’s calm competitiveness that she enjoys most about her European teammate, and Boutier’s stability is something Saso has leaned on this week, particularly after yesterday’s rough start.
“I feel really comfortable playing alongside Celine,” said Saso. “She's a very good partner. I wasn't having a good day yesterday to start the day, but she was there to give supportive words, and that definitely helped, so I'm very thankful for Celine.”
Now, after their impressive bounce back, Team BS will have a shot at their first Dow Championship title together, an accomplishment that would be incredibly special for the pair considering how close they came to victory in the 2023 edition of the event.
And with plenty of confidence derived from an excellent four-ball performance on Friday, Boutier and Saso are ready to tackle this next round of foursomes, determined to improve upon their Thursday 74 and close the four-shot gap between them and the leaders on Moving Day in Midland, Mich.
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