February 07-10
13th Beach Golf Links, Victoria, Australia
A$1,500,000

Round 1, Round 2, Round 3

Under sunny Australian skies and with throngs of fans circling the green, France’s Celine Boutier knocked in a two-putt par at No. 18 and earned her first LPGA Tour victory at the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open. The 25-year-old from Montrouge, France, returned an even-par 72 in Sunday’s final round to finish at -8 and become the season’s first Rolex First-Time Winner.

“It's been something I've been working toward since I turned pro and I just feel like it just happened,” said Boutier, who now makes her home in Dallas, Texas. “I'm super excited with the way I handled myself. It's not always easy to be able to get your first win.”

A trio of players finished two strokes behind Boutier at -6. Australia’s Sarah Kemp shot the day’s low round of 65, playing in the day’s second group after starting the round tied for 35th. She was joined in second by fellow Australian Su Oh and 2019 LPGA Tour rookie Charlotte Thomas of England.

In a format unique to world professional golf, the ISPS Handa Vic Open is a leader in sports equality. Staged at 13th Beach Golf Links on Australia’s Bellarine Peninsula, men and women play on the same courses, at the same time, for equal prize money. The ISPS Handa Vic Open is jointly sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, the ALPG, the European Tour and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.

It was a 30-foot birdie at No. 15 that pulled Celine Boutier two strokes clear of the field and sealed her maiden victory. With a pump of her fist, she clearly knew that it was a major moment.

“I feel like I've struggled a bit all day with my long game and I just didn't have many birdie opportunities,” said Boutier, who ended up with third birdies on the day to go with three bogeys. “On 15 when I made that putt, kind of really made me like motivate myself and made me really more confident in my abilities to win the tournament.”

With her win, Boutier becomes the second Duke University alumna to win on the LPGA Tour, joining 2016 U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang. She is also the fourth French golfer to win an LPGA Tour event and first since 2003, joining Catherine Lacoste (one win), Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (two wins) and Anne-Marie Palli (two wins)

After opening her final round with a birdie at No. 1, it looked like 54-hole leader Kim Kaufman might run away from the field. Unfortunately, just the opposite happened. The South Dakota native went bogey-bogey-double bogey on Nos. 3-5 and added three more bogeys in her inward nine to fall into a tie for eighth.

Nevertheless, Kaufman sees the positives from her round. Considering how much she struggled in 2018, missing 13 of 22 cuts and playing Q Series to better her position, she is happy with the current direction of her game.

“I think just the first two days being aggressive and just making a lot of birdies, and the game is there,” said Kaufman of what she learned about herself. “Also learning how do I learn to manage being in the final group the last two days. Just missed some putts, but I know the difference in my feel of it, it's a little tentative, and how to deal with that. The more we get in that position, hopefully the more you get to experiment and figure it out.”

To say that Aussie Sarah Kemp had a career day is a gross understatement. Playing in the day’s second group, the 33-year-old from New South Wales bounced back from an opening double-bogey to absolutely blitz her way around the Beach Course. Her nine birdies led to a 7-under 65, her best round since the fourth round of the 2010 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, and skyrocketed her up the leaderboard to a tie for second.

“It was one of those days you almost can't remember what happened,” said Kemp, who knocked in five consecutive birdies at Nos. 4-8. “It just all happened so fast and everything was going to plan. I tried to stay patient. I knew that I was kind of having a good score at the end and I got a little nervous coming down 18, but yeah, just lucked out.”

Player Notes

Rolex Rankings No. 123 Celine Boutier (69C-71B-69B-72B, -8)

She hit nine of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, with 29 putts

Boutier is in her third season on the LPGA tour; her best finish is third at the 2018 Blue Bay LPGA, her only career top-10 finish

Boutier has two wins on the Ladies European Tour, the 2017 Sanya Ladies Open and the 2018 Australian Ladies Classic Bonville

Boutier has two wins on the Symetra Tour, the 2017 Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic and the 2017 Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge

Boutier is a 2016 graduate of Duke University; she joins Brittany Lang (2016 U.S. Women’s Open) as the only Duke alumnae to win on the LPGA Tour

She was a two-time All-American at Duke and the 2013-14 National Player of the Year, and helped lead the Blue Devils to the 2014 NCAA Championship

Rolex Rankings No. 259 Sarah Kemp (70B-71C-77B-65B, -6)

This is Kemp’s first top-20 finish since May 2015, when she finished T16 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic

Her fourth-round 65 is tied for the second-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she shot a 63 at the 2009 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic (third round) and a 65 at the 2010 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic (fourth round)

She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 26 putts

Kemp is in her 12th LPGA Tour season; prior to today, her best career LPGA Tour finish was T10 (2010 CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge, 2011 Safeway Classic)

Rolex Rankings No. 78 Su Oh (67C-68B-74B-74B, -6)

She hit five of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 32 putts

Oh is in her fourth LPGA Tour season; her best career finish is second at the 2016 Kingsmill Championship and she has eight top-10 finishes, including four in 2018

Rolex Rankings No. 450 Charlotte Thomas (68B-68C-78B-69B, -6)

She hit nine of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 32 putts

Thomas is a 2019 LPGA Tour rookie; this was her third career LPGA Tour event, joining the 2017 and 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Opens

Of Note
-Haru Nomura (T5) earned her best result since winning the 2017 Volunteers of America Texas Shootout
- Alison Lee (T11) earned her best result since finishing second at the 2016 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship
-Three Australians finished in the top 10 – Sarah Kemp (T2), Su Oh (T2) and Katherine Kirk (T5)
-Two LPGA Tour rookies finished in the top 10 – Charlotte Thomas (T2) and Lauren Stephenson (T8)

The CME Group Cares Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group will donate $20,000 for each hole-in-one made on the LPGA Tour in 2019, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Su Oh recorded the first ace of the 2019 LPGA Tour season on Thursday at the par-3 15th hole on the Creek Course at 13th Beach Golf Links. She rolled in a hole-in-one with a 6-iron from 160 yards for her seventh ace in competition and first since the third round of the 2016 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

The LEADERS Top 10 competition awards a $100,000 bonus to the LPGA player with the most top-10 finishes through the completion of the event held immediately prior to the CME Group Tour Championship. In the event of a tie in total top-10 finishes, the award will go to the player with the most official wins, followed by most second-place finishes, third-place finishes, etc., until the tie is broken.

Through the first two events of the LPGA season, 21 players have top-10 finishes, led by Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions winner Eun-Hee Ji and ISPS Handa Vic Open winner Celine Boutier.

Round 3 - Kim Kaufman survives windy day, holds on to 54-hole lead

In an afternoon of sheer survival, Kim Kaufman survived an up-and-down day to card a third-round 75 and take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open. Highlighted by a slam-dunk birdie from a greenside bunker at No. 7, the American carded three birdies, four bogeys and one double-bogey through a day that saw a combination of bright sunshine, sideways rain and whipping winds that reached gusts of 30 mph.

“I went to school in west Texas, which is pretty windy, but this was up there,” said Kaufman of the day's weather conditions. “It really felt like a British Open day, but we all just fight and good things that happen and bad things that happen would happen to everyone.”

France's Celine Boutier took advantage of playing in the afternoon wave's first group, before the worst of the winds picked up. The former Duke University player shot a 3-under 69, tied for the day's low round, and jumped from 12th to a tie for second. She is joined in second by leading Australian Su Oh, who shot a 2-over 74. Japan's Haru Nomura, who started in the day two strokes behind Kaufman in second, struggled to a 4-over 76 and fell into solo fourth.

In a format unique to world professional golf, the ISPS Handa Vic Open is a leader in sports equality. Staged at 13th Beach Golf Links on Australia's Bellarine Peninsula, men and women play on the same courses, at the same time, for equal prize money. The ISPS Handa Vic Open is jointly sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, the ALPG, the European Tour and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.

Su Oh has come oh-so-close to her first LPGA Tour victory, with four top-10 finishes in 2018 putting her within striking distance of becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner. The native of Melbourne, just 40 miles northeast of Barwon Heads, would love nothing more than capturing that breakthrough victory so close to home.

“A lot, like everything, I guess, but especially at my state Open,” said Oh, when asked what it would mean to take the win on Sunday. “The first tournament, it would be just be amazing. I don't think anybody would be sad that they won, so I'm going to fight for it.”

The secondary cut for the women's competition at the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open came at 1-over 218, with 43 players making the 54-hole cut. On the men's side, 36 players made the cut, led by 54-hole leader Wade Ormsby of Australia.

When Kim Kaufman stepped into the greenside bunker at No. 7, a slam-dunk birdie was not on her mind. Even when she hit the ball – that outcome? Not remotely possible.

“I thought I hit a great shot, didn't think it was short at all,” said Kaufman, who quickly raised her arms in victory as the ball dropped right into the hole. “It was in the bunker and I thought that's the spot to be in, but it was so windy in that bunker, my club wasn't really even set but I stood there too long and I said, I've got to hit this. The minute I hit it, I was like, oh, it's way too far, and I just jarred it. I can say I've never done that before and it was a great time to do it.”

That ended up being the shot of the day for the Texas Tech graduate, who battled the elements all day but emerged with a positive outlook for Sunday's final round.

“Today was a good day to show that we all made bogeys, we all made birdies and you've just got to roll with it,” said Kaufman, who will tee off at 12:23 p.m. with Celine Boutier and Su Oh. “I did everything out there. I jarred it, I shanked a chip, I had everything. It will all happen tomorrow, too. I think we're all going to enjoy the nicer conditions and be able to make a few more birdies, a little more aggressive like it was the first two days.”

For the first time in ISPS Handa Vic Open history, the tournament included a co-ed group. The final group in Saturday's morning wave off the 10th tee included Ladies European Tour player Manon De Roey playing alongside Gavin Moynihan andDale Williamson. 

“We kind of talked a little bit and they were very nice,” said De Roey, who said she plays with men frequently back home in Belgium. “They were very polite and stuff, so yeah, it was nice.”

With 156 players (76 women and 80 men) making the cut, tournament officials decided to group the final players in each competition rather than add a group of two and a solo player to the mix.

Player Notes

Rolex Rankings No. 241 Kim Kaufman (66B-66C-75B, -10)

Kaufman leads heading into the final round for the second time in her career, joining the 2017 CME Group Tour Championship

Kaufman is playing in the final group for the first time since the 2017 CME Group Tour Championship 

She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, with 31 putts

Kaufman is in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is T2 at the 2015 Blue Bay LPGA and she has 10 top-10 finishes

Kaufman is a 2013 graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in political science

Rolex Rankings No. 123 Celine Boutier (69C-71B-69B, -8)

She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 30 putts

Boutier is in her third season on the LPGA tour; her best finish is third at the 2018 Blue Bay LPGA, her only career top-10 finish

Rolex Rankings No. 78 Su Oh (67C-68B-74B, -8)

She hit nine of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens, with 31 putts

Oh is in her fourth LPGA Tour season; her best career finish is second at the 2016 Kingsmill Championship and she has eight top-10 finishes, including four in 2018 

R2 Kim Kaufman takes 2-stroke lead

Kim Kaufman tops the leaderboard at the Vic Open after a 7-under 66 gave her a two-stroke lead over Haru Nomura heading into the weekend with Australia's Su Oh lies another stroke in third place.

After a diagnosis of glandular fever in 2018, Kaufman is back to full fitness for the 2019 season.

"The last time I was in the final group on a Sunday was at the 2017 Tour Championship," she said. "It's just nice to be back. It was a long year last year, but you just have to keep working hard and believing in yourself."

Overnight leader Felicity Johnson was seven strokes behind after a 2-over 74.

Karrie Webb, who now only plays part-time, carded the day's best score with a course record 65.

“I'm really excited about it, I haven't played that good from tee to green for quite some time, probably been a couple years.

“So yeah, it feels good.”

Round 1 - Felicity Johnson leads after Round 1 in Australia

Felicity Johnson made the Creek Course at 13th Beach Golf Links look rather easy on Thursday. With a bogey-free 8-under 65, Johnson, a member of the Ladies European Tour, holds the lead after 18 holes of the ISPS Handa Vic Open.

“I'm going to sound a bit cocky, but it was really easy,” said Johnson, who hails from England. “I hit 17 greens in regulation, birdied three of the par 5s, so there's kind of a couple of almost gimme birdies. And for me if I roll the ball on the greens well, I'll shoot a good score and that's what I did today.”

A trio of players sit two strokes behind Johnson at -6. Australia's Su Oh shot a 67 on the par-73 Creek Course, while American Kim Kaufman and Canadian Anne-Catherine Tanguay each shot 66 on the par-72 Beach Course.

Defending champion Minjee Lee shot a 1-under 72 on the Creek Course and sits tied for 53rd, while Australian legend Karrie Webb returned an even-par 73 on the Creek Course and is tied for 78th.

In a format unique to world professional golf, the ISPS Handa Vic Open is a leader in sports equality. Staged at 13th Beach Golf Links on Australia's Bellarine Peninsula, men and women play on the same courses, at the same time, for equal prize money. The ISPS Handa Vic Open is jointly sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, the ALPG, the European Tour and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.

Little sleep for Lee

Alison Lee may win the award for the least amount of sleep this week. The 23-year-old from Valencia, Calif., was the last player into the ISPS Handa Vic Open, getting the call on Sunday afternoon when Brooke Henderson withdrew due to illness. As the week's first alternate and already into next week's ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open field, Lee had thankfully already booked her plane ticket to Australia after competing in a pro-am in the Bahamas last weekend.

“I landed Tuesday morning here, drove down, took like a two-hour nap and played eight holes,” said Lee, who still has not seen the Beach Course. “Then the next day I wasn't feeling too well still, I was kind of sick, so I played like about 15 holes on Wednesday.”

The lack of sleep or course exposure certainly did not hinder Lee, who shot a 5-under 68 on the Creek Course on Thursday and sits tied for fifth. After an admittedly tough 2018, a season that saw her compete in the second stage of Q School and the inaugural Q Series to regain her LPGA Tour card, Lee is ready for a fresh start in 2019.

“I struggled a lot mentally the last couple years, just put a lot of pressure on myself and just wasn't myself,” said Lee. “I took a lot of time off this offseason especially after Q School to kind of regroup and just come out here and have fun. Coming into this week I didn't even think I would play, so I'm just really thankful to be here and to be able to compete.”

Johnson enjoying golfing trip around Victoria

Felicity Johnson sure has enjoyed her last few weeks in Victoria, Australia. Johnson, a native of Birmingham, England, has been touring around Victoria, grabbing two victories on the PGA of Australia's PGA Pro-Am Series as a great warm-up for this week at 13th Beach Golf Links.

“Australia's like England but with sunshine, so we obviously feel pretty at home here,” Johnson joked when asked about the English success at this event and across Australia. “Yeah, we do play a lot of these courses at home, kind of links style and a bit of wind, we grew up playing that, so yeah, it feels familiar almost.”

The familiarity paid off for Johnson on Thursday, as she returned a bogey-free 65 to grab the first-round lead.

“It's the first day so there's a long way to go still,” said Johnson, who played on the LPGA Tour from 2013-17 before returning to the Ladies European Tour in 2018. “But I mean, if I can play anywhere near as solid as that the next three days, I feel I'll be in contention come Sunday.”

Ace for Oh

The par-3 15th at the Creek Course quickly became Su Oh's favorite hole on Thursday. She rolled in a hole-in-one with a 6-iron from 160 yards for her seventh ace in competition and first since the third round of the 2016 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

“I just thought it just trickled past the pin and hopefully was a good shot,” said Oh, who had five aces during her competitive amateur career. “Paula (Creamer) was just like, I think it went in, and I was like, Really? There was this one guy near the green saying it like just rolled in, so I had one guy see it. That was good enough.”

Player Notes

Rolex Rankings No. 291 Felicity Johnson (65 Creek, -6)

Johnson's first-round 65 is tied for the lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she shot a 65 in the second rounds of both the 2013 and 2017 Manulife LPGA Classic

This is the first time that Johnson has held a portion of the lead following any round at an LPGA Tour event

She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 17 of 17 greens, with 28 putts

Johnson played full time on the LPGA Tour from 2013-2017; her best career finish is T19 at the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women's Open

Johnson returned to the Ladies European Tour full time in 2018; she finished second at the 2018 Hero Women's Indian Open

Rolex Rankings No. 78 Su Oh (67 Creek, -6)

Oh's first-round 65 is tied for the third lowest first round of her LPGA Tour career

She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 26 putts

Oh is in her fourth LPGA Tour season; her best career finish is second at the 2016 Kingsmill Championship and she has eight top-10 finishes, including four in 2018

Rolex Rankings No. 310 Anne-Catherine Tanguay (66 Beach, -6)

Tanguay's first-round 66 is the lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she shot 67 three times in 2018, most recently at the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic

She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, with 32 putts

Tanguay is in her third full LPGA Tour season and spent 2017 primarily on the Symetra Tour; her best career LPGA Tour finish is T16 at the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic

Tanguay, a member of Golf Canada's Young Pro Squad, is a 2014 graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in management and accounting

Rolex Rankings No. 241 Kim Kaufman (66 Beach, -6)

Kaufman's first-round 66 is tied for the third lowest round of the LPGA Tour career

She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens, with 29 putts

Kaufman is in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is T2 at the 2015 Blue Bay LPGA and she has 10 top-10 finishes

Kaufman is a 2013 graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in political science