The theme of this LPGA Tour season is clear, and drastically different than 2025, where rookies and breakthrough players won on a regular basis. 2026 is the year of the star and even in a field with lower strength, that continued at the ShopRite LPGA.
Celine Boutier won for the second time in Atlantic City with a come-from-behind, one-stroke victory over Thailand’s Archipaya Yubol. It was Boutier’s seventh overall title on the LPGA Tour and first since her huge 2023 season where she won four times, including a major championship.
Boutier came into the day trailing by four to Soo Bin Joo, but made a couple early birdies to keep the pressure on. While she dropped a stroke on the par 3 seventh, she immediately made up for it with three consecutive birdies on eight, nine and 10. She added one more, a beautiful putt on 14, to get to -5 for the day and -9 overall.
Unsurprisingly with Boutier, it was the putter that carried her. Across three rounds she needed just 82 putts, and only 26 on Sunday.
Joo struggled early but kept her game afloat with a pair of birdies and bogeys on the front nine. While she lost her lead early in the back nine, she was still very much in contention until a costly double bogey, that she saved with a great putt, on 14 and a bogey on 16. She finished tied for fourth at -6.
Yubol, a player who has had some strong flashes in her young career, had a fantastic back nine with five birdies and just one dropped shot. Her -5 effort for the day wasn’t enough though as she came one stroke shy. On Saturday, Yubol had a costly slow play penalty that may have been the deciding factor in her getting her first LPGA Tour win.
Next, the LPGA Tour heads to Los Angeles for the second major of the season, the U.S. Women’s Open played at Riviera.
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