Canadian golfer Alena Sharp tied for 7th after 1st Olympic round, Henderson tied for 30th

France's Celine Boutier delighted the home crowd by taking a first-round lead at the Olympic women's golf competition on Wednesday, with her slick putting setting her apart from some of her rivals who toiled on a tricky course south of Paris.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton was the top Canadian after opening at 1 under, six shots back of leader Boutier. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who finished seventh at the 2016 Rio Games, opened at 2 over.

Treated to a rendition of the Marseillaise by excited French fans as she teed off, the world number seven and major winner Boutier kept her cool to notch up eight birdies and a lone bogey to post a seven-under-par round of 65.

"It was easy to be carried away by the emotions and all that, and it was nice to see so many people, but it's true that afterwards I had to really focus," Boutier told reporters.

The 30-year-old said her putting went as well as she could have wanted, with the pick of her scoring shots an 18-foot chip from off the green into the 16th hole to take her to seven under.

Playing alongside Boutier, American world number two Lilia Vu reveled in the atmosphere and was pleased with a two-under-par clubhouse total that put her in tied-third place.

Boutier is seeking to outdo Victor Perez who thrilled French fans with a dazzling final round on Sunday to take fourth place in the men's competition.

The women's tournament will follow the same format as the men's contest won by American Scottie Scheffler, with 60 participants teeing off for a 72-hole, stroke-play contest over four days at Le Golf National.

Other early leaders included South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai, second at four under, and Colombia's Mariajo Uribe, who will retire after the Paris Games, part of a four-way