SE: Boucher’s Love for K-State, Records Remain as Former Standout Enters Hall of Fame
Aug 22, 2018 | Women's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
The love Christine Boucher (Lynch) has for K-State is much like the records she set as a standout for the Wildcat women's golf team. Both have stood the test of time.
Boucher, who played for K-State from 2000-04, still holds the program's career records for rounds (131) and tournaments played (48), career individual victories (6), single-round score (64) and 54-hole score (204).
"I'm a little bit baffled," Boucher, living in Canada, said of her records. "Some of them were hard to beat — I guess very hard to beat. Scoring average has gone down so much in the past decade I just assumed somebody would eclipse some of the records. It's still nice to see that what I did there was pretty impressive. It makes it more impressive back in the time I did it."
Boucher's career landed her on this year's nine-person K-State Athletics Hall of Fame class. The class will be honored the weekend of September 27-29, including being recognized during K-State's home football game against Texas on that Saturday.
"Obviously, it's a great honor. I truly enjoyed my time at K-State; my stats and my tournament records proved that," Boucher, the first and, to this day, only Wildcat to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2003-04, said. "I'm a big fan of Colbert Hills and all the facilities that we had there. It had a big impact on how my game was developed throughout my college years."
Off the course, Boucher added, was where K-State shaped her the most. A native of Quebec, Canada, she grew up speaking French. So when she arrived in Manhattan, Boucher said her English abilities were poor, at best.
"Communication was a little rough but (Coach Kristi Knight) waited for me, she knew my potential for golf and gave me a chance," Boucher said. "I always appreciated that from her."
Again, this patience and help Boucher received went beyond Colbert Hills and the golf team.
"All the academic counselors, tutors, everybody was so nice to me. The patience that everybody had at K-State with me, not only being on the golf team but with my difficulties learning English, everybody was going to the extra mile to help me out and make me succeed," she said. "Golf came easy but English was a little more difficult. My teammates played a big role in my learning and my ability to succeed both on and off the course.
"K-State was a family. They grab you by the heart and they don't let go. That's what I loved about it, from the academic counselors to the tutors to my teachers to my coach, they had a big impact."
Boucher said she was recruited late by K-State and, partly, by good fortune. The former Wildcat said Knight noticed her while at a tournament in Canada to see another girl play. Boucher beat that player.
"She knew my potential and then she contacted me. I was quite late in the recruiting process, went all the way to February before I signed, but she invited me down for a visit, and as soon as I stepped foot (in Manhattan) I fell in love with the place," Boucher said. "I like Manhattan, its a small-town mentality and how the school was integrated into the town."
It also helped, Boucher noted, that Colbert Hills opened the same year as her visit.
"That was a big sell for me, liking the course. Also, being able to play in the Big 12 my four years there, that was a really nice addition," she said, as she earned All-Big 12 honors three times in her career. "From there, I was just in love with Manhattan."
Boucher's first tournament as a Wildcat set the tone for her career. Her Wildcat debut came in Nebraska, where she said she got sick during the practice round and slept in the cart next to Knight the whole day. She finished the tournament in third place and set the program's 54-hole scoring record, a mark she would best many times before her career was over.
"That's how my K-State career started," she said, laughing.
Her career ended with four NCAA Regional appearances and two top-10 finishes at the Big 12 Tournament, including a runner-up outing as a sophomore. She's also the program's only individual to qualify for the NCAA Championship, which she did in 2003.
She went on to spend five years on the LPGA's official developmental tour before life — getting married and raising two boys, Dylan and Landon — put golf on hold for a few years. Now, she's back in the game in a different capacity, including teaching it.
"It's a different world, I guess, because I still have the passion and I still have the competitiveness in me. So any time I see tournaments and I see some of my friends that I played in college and on tour, it kind of pinches my heart, but I don't regret my choices," she said. "I'm enjoying being a mom and having fun with my kids."
The love Christine Boucher (Lynch) has for K-State is much like the records she set as a standout for the Wildcat women's golf team. Both have stood the test of time.
Boucher, who played for K-State from 2000-04, still holds the program's career records for rounds (131) and tournaments played (48), career individual victories (6), single-round score (64) and 54-hole score (204).
"I'm a little bit baffled," Boucher, living in Canada, said of her records. "Some of them were hard to beat — I guess very hard to beat. Scoring average has gone down so much in the past decade I just assumed somebody would eclipse some of the records. It's still nice to see that what I did there was pretty impressive. It makes it more impressive back in the time I did it."
Boucher's career landed her on this year's nine-person K-State Athletics Hall of Fame class. The class will be honored the weekend of September 27-29, including being recognized during K-State's home football game against Texas on that Saturday.
"Obviously, it's a great honor. I truly enjoyed my time at K-State; my stats and my tournament records proved that," Boucher, the first and, to this day, only Wildcat to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2003-04, said. "I'm a big fan of Colbert Hills and all the facilities that we had there. It had a big impact on how my game was developed throughout my college years."
Off the course, Boucher added, was where K-State shaped her the most. A native of Quebec, Canada, she grew up speaking French. So when she arrived in Manhattan, Boucher said her English abilities were poor, at best.
"Communication was a little rough but (Coach Kristi Knight) waited for me, she knew my potential for golf and gave me a chance," Boucher said. "I always appreciated that from her."
Again, this patience and help Boucher received went beyond Colbert Hills and the golf team.
"All the academic counselors, tutors, everybody was so nice to me. The patience that everybody had at K-State with me, not only being on the golf team but with my difficulties learning English, everybody was going to the extra mile to help me out and make me succeed," she said. "Golf came easy but English was a little more difficult. My teammates played a big role in my learning and my ability to succeed both on and off the course.
"K-State was a family. They grab you by the heart and they don't let go. That's what I loved about it, from the academic counselors to the tutors to my teachers to my coach, they had a big impact."
Boucher said she was recruited late by K-State and, partly, by good fortune. The former Wildcat said Knight noticed her while at a tournament in Canada to see another girl play. Boucher beat that player.
"She knew my potential and then she contacted me. I was quite late in the recruiting process, went all the way to February before I signed, but she invited me down for a visit, and as soon as I stepped foot (in Manhattan) I fell in love with the place," Boucher said. "I like Manhattan, its a small-town mentality and how the school was integrated into the town."
It also helped, Boucher noted, that Colbert Hills opened the same year as her visit.
"That was a big sell for me, liking the course. Also, being able to play in the Big 12 my four years there, that was a really nice addition," she said, as she earned All-Big 12 honors three times in her career. "From there, I was just in love with Manhattan."
Boucher's first tournament as a Wildcat set the tone for her career. Her Wildcat debut came in Nebraska, where she said she got sick during the practice round and slept in the cart next to Knight the whole day. She finished the tournament in third place and set the program's 54-hole scoring record, a mark she would best many times before her career was over.
"That's how my K-State career started," she said, laughing.
Her career ended with four NCAA Regional appearances and two top-10 finishes at the Big 12 Tournament, including a runner-up outing as a sophomore. She's also the program's only individual to qualify for the NCAA Championship, which she did in 2003.
She went on to spend five years on the LPGA's official developmental tour before life — getting married and raising two boys, Dylan and Landon — put golf on hold for a few years. Now, she's back in the game in a different capacity, including teaching it.
"It's a different world, I guess, because I still have the passion and I still have the competitiveness in me. So any time I see tournaments and I see some of my friends that I played in college and on tour, it kind of pinches my heart, but I don't regret my choices," she said. "I'm enjoying being a mom and having fun with my kids."
K-State Women's Golf | Carla Bernat ANWA Recognition
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Women's Golf | Behind The Scenes Photoshoot
Tuesday, November 11
K-State Men's Golf | Wildcat Invitational
Tuesday, November 11
K-State WGOLF | Carla Bernat Augusta National Women's Amateur Recognition
Saturday, November 01
