Celine Boutier’s Sunday started with an inspirational conversation before she teed off in the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic. The tour veteran and major winner met LPGA superfan Evelyn King-White, an 11-year-old who has been battling Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Boutier surprised King-White near the clubhouse at Seaview Hotel & Golf Club as part of a Make-a-Wish Foundation meet-and-greet. Boutier then delivered the news that the young girl would be going on a trip to DisneyWorld, courtesy of the Childhood Cancer Center.
Yet King-White wasn’t the only one who touched by the moment. Said Boutier: “It set me up for a good mood for the day.”
A couple of times during her round, Boutier noticed King-White was following her group. “It definitely felt very heartwarming to see her on the course and watching me after I had the chance to meet her,” Boutier said. “I definitely feel like we had a little bit of connection there. Seeing her at the end as well was super cool.”
Boutier won her seventh LPGA event but first title in 2½ years. There’s no statistic for making someone’s day, but Boutier would be padding those stats as well if there was such a thing. Last year, she became an ambassador for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in France. She had a bonus wish in New Jersey on Sunday.
And now, Boutier takes the win and good vibes to the Los Angeles area, where she’ll compete in the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club, hoping to win a second major title. She’s already won the Amundi Evian Championship in her home country in 2023. Given a week in which she made a new friend and won, it would extend a special streak.
“It was really fun for me to be able to do that for her,” Boutier said. “It’s very humbling and very nice to meet her and she was so excited. It got my day off on the right foot.”