Amundi Evian Championship Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

The top 25 players competing at the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship, ranked

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:55:13 +0000

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While the men’s major calendar is over with Brian Harman’s victory at the Open Championship, the LPGA Tour’s European major swing is just starting. The Amundi Evian Championship begins on Thursday in France followed in two weeks by the AIG Women’s Open at England’s Walton Heath.

Despite being the “newest” women’s major, the Evian consistently delivers a top-tiered player as its champion since given its new status in 2013. Eight of its nine winners have been in the top 20 of the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. (Angela Stanford was the lone outlier in 2018 when she was ranked 76th.) The average ranking of the champions is 16th.

Whether that trend holds this year is up for debate as numerous top players appear a bit out of form. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko shocked everyone with a 79 to begin the US Women’s Open, en route to a missed cut. No. 2 Nelly Korda, coming off a win on the LET’s Aramco Series — London, has made one cut over her previous three LPGA starts.

No. 3 Lydia Ko hasn’t finished inside the top 30 on tour since her T-6 in February at the Honda LPGA Thailand. Nos. 4, 5 and 6 are this year’s three first-time major winners (Lilia Vu, Allisen Corpuz and Ruoning Yin). And defending champion Brooke Henderson, No. 11 in the world rankings, returns following back-to-back missed cuts at the Dana Open and the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

Ahead of this week’s stop at Evian Resort Golf Club, we dove through the 132-player field and ranked the 25 most likely to win come Sunday.

25: Min Ji Park
Rolex Ranking: 26 Starts: 1 Best Finish: T-37, 2022
Park won twice last month on the KLPGA Tour and has been one of the top players on the South Korean circuit over the last three seasons. She’s only made two starts in LPGA majors, the latest a T-13 finish at in the US Women’s open at Pebble Beach.

Lydia Ko. ASLI 2023/Oisin Keniry

24: Lydia Ko
Rolex Ranking: 3 Starts: 9 Best Finish: Win, 2015
Maybe Ko’s success at Evian Resort Golf Club will help offset a disappointing 2023 season to date, marked by the astounding seven penalty strokes she had to take in the final round of the Dana Open, her last start. Ko has seven top-10s in her career in this event, including a T-3 a year ago.
23: Anna Nordqvist
Rolex Ranking: 33 Starts: 13 Best Finish: Win, 2017
The three-time major winner’s missed cut at Pebble Beach was a surprise after a sturdy run of midsummer play that included five top-20s in six starts, highlighted by a T-3 at the KPMG Women’s PGA.

Celine Boutier. Mark Runnacles

22: Celine Boutier
Rolex Ranking: 13 Starts: 6 Best Finish: T-29, 2014, 2021
A winner at this year’s LPGA Drive On, Boutier is coming off a T-3 performance at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, her fourth top-10 in 2023. She’s looking to become the first Frenchwoman to win the Evian.
21: Grace Kim
Rolex Ranking: 55 Starts: First appearance
Kim’s first career LPGA win in April was followed by two missed cuts, but the rookie has posted five top-20 finishes in her last six starts, including 14th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and T-13 at the U.S. Women’s Open.
20: Atthaya Thitikul
Rolex Ranking: 9 Starts: 3 Best Finish: 5, 2021
Despite missing back-to-back cuts at the last two majors, Thitikul remains tied for the most top-10s this season on the LPGA Tour (seven). The Thai star’s consistency so far in her young career includes top-10s in her last two starts at Evian.
19: Nasa Hataoka
Rolex Ranking: 19 Starts: 3 Best Finish: T-15, 2022
The Japanese stalwart was the 54-hole leader at Pebble Beach but surprisingly faded down the stretch. Still, her T-4 was her sixth top-seven major finish in her last 16 starts dating back to the 2020 Chevron Championship.
18: Hae Ran Ryu
Rolex Ranking: 32 Starts: 1 Best Finish: MC, 2018
Ryu’s rookie LPGA season has been a bit feast or famine. She’s got 10 top-20 finishes, two missed cuts, a T-56 and a T-65. Unfortunately, her two worst performances happened at majors, the T-56 at Chevron and an MC at the KPMG Women’s PGA. Ryu substantially improved at Pebble Beach, where she finished in eighth.

Brooke Henderson. Julio Aguilar

17: Brooke Henderson
Rolex Ranking: 12 Starts: 7 Best Finish: Win, 2022
Henderson will need to rely on her success at the Evian Resort Golf Course to defend her title rather than recent form. The Canadian has six top-25 finishes in her seven Evian starts, including three top-10s.
16: Cheyenne Knight
Rolex Ranking: 39 Starts: 2 Best Finish: T-19, 2022
Knight flew from Midland, Michigan, to France with her second career LPGA title after winning the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. The victory is part of a consistent 2023 campaign, as Knight finished in the top 30 in eight of her last nine starts.
15: Carlota Ciganda
Rolex Ranking: 31 Starts: 10 Best Finish: T-3, 2022
Since losing in the quarter-finals at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play in May, the Spaniard hasn’t been outside the top 21 in six starts, including a T-3 at the KPMG Women’s PGA. Ciganda is looking for her first LPGA title since 2016.
14: Jiyai Shin
Rolex Ranking: 24 Starts: 7 Best Finish: Win, 2010
Shin’s last start at the Evian came in 2013. However, off a three-win year on the JLPGA and a runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open, the former World No. 1 remains in form to take her third major title.

Charley Hull. Warren Little/R&A

13: Charley Hull
Rolex Ranking: 15 Starts: 9 Best Finish: T-3, 2022
The Englishwoman nearly stole the show at Pebble Beach, closing with a 66 for a T-2 finish. In her next start, she was second to Nelly Korda at the LET’s Aramco Team Series — London event.
12: Yuka Saso
Rolex Ranking: 27 Starts: 1 Best Finish: MC, 2022
Saso, the 2021 US Women’s Open champ, missed four cuts from March to May, only to find her form with a runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA and a T-3 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
11: Jin Young Ko
Rolex Ranking: 1 Starts: 6 Best Finish: Win, 2019
Ko put up a shocking performance at the US Women’s Open, with her opening 79, the second-worst round of her LPGA career. The two-time winner in 2023 rebounded with a T-26 at the Dana Open. Despite the poor Pebble Beach performance, Ko remains second in tour scoring average (69.79).
10: Xiyu Lin
Rolex Ranking: 11 Starts: 6 Best Finish: T-29, 2015
The winner’s circle can only evade Lin for so long as she continues posting great finishes. Lin finished in the top five three times over her last four starts, most recently a T-4 at the Dana Open.

Rose Zhang. Christian Petersen

9: Rose Zhang
Rolex Ranking: 34 Starts: 2 Best Finish: T-58, 2021
Zhang’s last start was her first missed cut as a pro at the Dana Open, but it’s excused as she was ill and she had three straight top-10s finishes to start her pay-for-play career. Expect a (hopefully) healthy Zhang to continue her consistency atop LPGA leaderboards.
8: Ayaka Furue
Rolex Ranking: 18 Starts: 2 Best Finish: 4th, 2021
Furue is a picture of consistency; the Japanese native hasn’t finished outside the top 15 in her last seven starts, dating back to April. With seven top-10s in 2023, at some point this run has to lead to her second career win… right?
7: Ruoning Yin
Rolex Ranking: 5 Starts: First appearance
The KPMG Women’s PGA winner missed the first cut of her impressive sophomore LPGA campaign at last week’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational last week. We can look past it if you can.

Nelly Korda. Tristan Jones/LET

6: Nelly Korda
Rolex Ranking: 2 Starts: 5 Best Finish: T-8, 2022
Korda’s victory two weeks ago at the LET’s Aramco Team Series in London signals a likely return to form after coming back from a back injury with two missed cuts and a T-64 in her three LPGA starts. She is also trending at the Evian, improving in every start she has made in France — MC, 2017; T-16, 2018; T-25, 2019; T-19, 2021; T-8, 2023.
5: Minjee Lee
Rolex Ranking: 7 Starts: 8 Best Finish: Win, 2021
Lee has returned to her star form following a rocky start to 2023 where the two-time major winner didn’t finish inside the top 40 in her first four starts. Since a runner-up at the Cognizant Foudner’s Cup in May, Lee posted six consecutive top-20s, most recently a T-7 at the Dana Open.

LeonaLeona Maguire smiles during the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship. Michael Reaves

4: Leona Maguire
Rolex Ranking: 11 Starts: 3 Best Finish: T-6, 2021
Maguire’s standout performances in majors slowed with a T-31 at Pebble, but there’s plenty of evidence she’ll catch fire again in France. After all, she’s tied for the lowest major round ever with the 61 she posted at Evian in the final round of 2021.
3: Allisen Corpuz
Rolex Ranking: 6 Starts: 1 Best Finish: MC
Corpuz enters Evian being the best major player on tour this year. She’s got a win at the US Women’s Open, a T-4 at the Chevron, and a T-15 at the KPMG Women’s PGA. Impressively backed up the victory at Pebble with a runner-up at the Dana Open the following week.
2: Linn Grant
Rolex Ranking: 21 Starts: 1 Best Finish: T-8, 2022
Grant grabbed her anticipated first LPGA title at the Dana Open earlier this month. Given her dominance on the Ladies European Tour, with five wins between 2022 and this year, why wouldn’t that major breakthrough be on the European continent?

Hyo Joo Kim. Lionel Ng

1: Hyo Joo Kim
Rolex Ranking: 8 Starts: 8 Best Finish: Win, 2014
For a decade Kim has consistently been in contention at the Evian. She finished T-3 last year and held the 54-hole lead in 2019 before ending up T-2. The South Korean leads the LPGA in scoring average (69.62) and in greens in regulation this year, making the 28-year-old South Korean the pick for her second major title.

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Sophia Schubert: The Amundi Evian Championship runner-up actually was a big winner, too

Matt Smith — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 06:47:48 +0000

By Ryan Herrington
There’s nothing like the excitement of earning your LPGA Tour card for the first time. Sophia Schubert, a former college All-American at Texas and the 2018 US Women’s Amateur champ knows that first-hand, having felt it last fall when she finished the fourth on the Epson Tour money list, securing LPGA playing privileges for 2022.

There’s also, however, nothing like a corollary feeling: the nervousness of trying to keep your card.

Like all Epson Tour graduates, Schubert’s priority ranking required a solid start to her season. But in her first 11 appearances, she missed five cuts, the 26-year-old was sitting 99th in the CME Race to the Globe standings with the top 100 keeping their cards for 2023.

That changed on Sunday, however, as Schubert continued a magical run at the Amundi Evian Championship. Starting the day four shots back of leader Brooke Henderson, Schubert overcame an early bogey and made four birdies in a 10-hole stretch to grab a share of the lead.

MORE: World’s best set for Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open
Henderson claims major prize at Evian

“I was kind of nervous all day, a little more than yesterday, and Brittany just kept saying, ‘Hey, just take a deep breath. It’s OK. Just keep doing what you’re doing,’” Schubert said. “I think the last few holes coming in actually I just had the sense of like peace, so I just hit every shot and kept going.”

Three pars to close her round got Schubert into the clubhouse with a closing 68 and tied with Brooke Henderson at 16 under par. Schubert’s dream of making her first top-10 finish in an LPGA event a major victory came to an end when Henderson birdied the 18th hole to squeak out a one-stroke victory.

While coming up short of the title, Schubert still jumped to 38th in the CME standings with the runner-up finish, all but guaranteeing her playing privileges in 2023. And cashing in on the $586,262 runner-up payday, Schubert earned seven times as much as she had made all season ($82,796).

There were tears after, but the tears of happiness.

“I’m proud of myself, proud of everyone that’s helped me get to this point,” Schubert said. “It came just short, but I know that I’ll be back, so I’m really happy.”

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WATCH: Highlights from the finale of Brooke Henderson’s triumph at the Amundi Evian Championship

Matt Smith — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:03:27 +0000

By Matt Smith

Brooke Henderson survived a roller-coaster final round and birdied the last hole to win the Amundi Evian Championship by one shot from Sophia Schubert at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.

The 24-year-old Canadian entered the final round with a two-shot lead but struggled out of the gates, dropping a shot at her first hole and then making a four-putt double bogey on the sixth, to lose her outright lead. However, after sinking a birdie putt on the seventh hole and then making the turn in two-over-par, Henderson fought hard on the back nine to grind out the win and earn the first prize cheque, worth $1 million.

Watch the highlights of her triumph below:

[parone_video_player campaign=”337″ defaultlang=”en” feed=”51-all-videos”/]

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WATCH: Fan picks up Nelly Korda’s ball during the final round of Evian Championship and scrambles to put it back

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 07:05:53 +0000

By Keely Levins
You expect to deal with a lot of things when you’re in contention during the final round of a major: stress, tough pin positions, fast greens, birdies from your competition. But what you don’t expect is a fan picking up your tee ball moments after it comes to rest. That’s exactly what happened to Nelly Korda on the sixth hole of the final round of the Amundi Evian Championship.

ICYMI: Nelly Korda's second shot at the 6th was picked up by a fan just passing by.

The ball was put back and Korda continued play with no penalty.

?: Golf Channel and @peacockTV
?: https://t.co/GDwugr1DXT pic.twitter.com/7CvusNjWoy

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 24, 2022

We love seeing new fans coming out to golf tournaments, but you’ve got to know that picking up a ball isn’t the right move. As you can see, the man who appears to be with the fan gave her a quick lesson in proper tournament etiquette.

The man tells the woman to put the ball back where she found it, which is actually the correct thing to do according to the USGA Rules of Golf. Rule 9.6 says “If it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence lifted or moved your ball there is no penalty. The ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated).”

Despite not incurring a penalty during the mishap, Korda went on to make double-bogey 6 on the hole at Evian Golf Club. It was her second shot on the par 4 that found the wood chips. She flubbed her third into a green side bunker, hit out in four but missed a eight-foot putt for bogey. To her credit, she made a birdie on the seventh and eagle on the ninth to jump back into a tie for the lead, but she’d play her back nine in one over to eventually finish four shots back of winner Brooke Henderson.

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Amundi Evian Championship: Brooke Henderson didn’t make it easy on herself, but still wins second major

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 05:55:03 +0000

By Keely Levins
A year ago, Jeonguen Lee6 saw a five-shot final-round lead slip away at the Amundi Evian Championship, the South Korean ultimately losing the tournament in a playoff to Minjee Lee. On Sunday, at the Evian Resort Golf Club, it looked like history was repeating itself.

Brooke Henderson opened with rounds of 64-64-68 and had a two-shot edge, but started Day 4 in France with a bogey on the first hole and a double-bogey on the sixth (thanks to a four-putt). Suddenly, the leaderboard surged around her, the 24-year-old Canadian needing to fight from behind on the back nine. But that’s where this year’s drama changed. With birdies on three of her final five holes, including a 12-footer on the par-5 18th, Henderson rallied to win by one shot.

[parone_video_player campaign=”337″ defaultlang=”en” feed=”51-all-videos”/]

“It was definitely an interesting day. Not the start that I wanted, but I stayed pretty patient, as patient as I could under those circumstances,” said Henderson, who ultimately finished with an even-par 71 on Sunday for a 17-under 267 total. “Then going into the back nine, you know, the saying is that majors are won on the back nine on Sunday, so I just tried to keep that frame of mind, and knew I was still in it if I could have a solid back.”

A MAJOR SELFIE.
CONGRATS BROOKE. @LPGA #EvianChamp pic.twitter.com/AWemhD5tnN

— The Amundi Evian Championship (@EvianChamp) July 24, 2022

While experienced players such as major champions Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Jin Young Ko all made charges on Sunday, it was the No. 283 player in the world who became Henderson’s greatest challenger. Sophia Schubert, a 26-year-old LPGA rookie from Tennessee, was having an out-of-nowhere performance at the Evian.

In a season where she had missed five cuts in 11 starts, Schubert was cruising around the Evian Resort Golf Club. A closing three-under 68 allowed the former University of Texas All-American to finish at 16-under. She then had to watch to see if it was enough to force a playoff with Henderson, at 16-under herself when teeing off on the reachable-in-two par-5 18th.

Henderson’s tee shot found the left rough, causing her to lay-up back in the fairway with her second. She hit her approach from 107 yards to about 12 feet, the same distance Schubert missed a birdie try from moments earlier.

The putter seemed to be the issue for Henderson on Sunday. Despite hitting 15 greens, the No. 10 ranked player in the world had 34 putts. But Henderson buried her final putt, making all of those she misses obsolete.

Afterward, Henderson looked a little shocked, mouthing what looked like ‘Oh my God,’ to her sister, Brittany, who’s also her caddie. The win, her second in 2022 (to go with the LPGA Classic in June) is Henderson’s 12th on the LPGA Tour, further cementing her as the most accomplished Canadian golfer in history. And it was her second major, to go with a win at the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA, making her the first Canadian golfer, male or female, to be a multiple major winner.

The financial spoils for the victory were nice, too. The record $1 million winner’s cheque pushes Henderson past the $10 million threshold for her career, making her just the 24th player in LPGA history to break eight figures.

“In 2016, winning the first major changed my life,” Henderson said. “My world ranking shot up, and I just received a ton more attention from fans and media. It also made me feel like I really belonged out here and that I could contend for big, major championships and compete against the best in the world, which is an amazing feeling,” Henderson said. “It has been a long time, and getting off to a fast start early this week, it just felt great to be at the top of the leaderboard at a major. I just tried to take that excitement as far as I could.”

It has been a long time, but Henderson said this one was definitely worth the wait.

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Henderson clings on to Amundi Evian Championship lead as major race heats up

Matt Smith — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 07:13:30 +0000

By Matt Smith
Brooke Henderson goes into the final round of the Amundi Evian Championship in france with a two-stroke lead over over big-mover So Yeon Ryu from South Korea.

A few missed birdie chances from close range cost Henderson the chance to take a big lead into the final round at Evian Resort Golf Club.

However, at 17-under, the 24-year-old from Ontario is still well placed to capture her second major.

After signing for a three-under 68, she said: “It was wasn’t as good as the first two days, but I really hung in there. I made some clutch par saves on the back nine, which felt nice.

“There were not as many birdies on the card. I felt like the course was playing a little bit tougher for me today. Hopefully I’ll go out tomorrow and continue to ball strike pretty well and hopefully make some putts.”

On her game plan for the final round, she added: “I think it’s important where you’re placing the ball off the tee and into the greens. Hopefully I can get a good strategy together tonight and hopefully I’ll be able to hit the shots where I need to.

“It can be a very tricky course if you start miss-hitting shots. If you can keep it in the right areas, then you can make some birdies.”

Ryu, targeting a third major title following on from her victories in the 2011 US Women’s Open and 2017 ANA Inspiration, carded eight birdies against two bogeys in her third round of six-under-par 65.

The 32-year-old wornd No. 51 will be able to keep a close eye on the leader in the final pairing and could be a major threat, but there are plenty of skilled players lining up in the groups behind.

Sophia Schubert from the United States is two strokes back in third place and will play alongside Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who leads the European challenge in a tie for fourth with Korean Sei Young Kim on 12-under-par.

After her third consecutive round of 67, Ciganda said: “I think four-under, no bogeys, that’s always a great round. I would have liked to have made a couple more birdies at the end with the two par-fives, but I made some good saves. I didn’t take advantage today of the par-fives.”

“I don’t think it’s easy to make putts here. I was just trying to be patient out there. I’m playing good, so I think I’m hitting good enough shots that I’ll give myself some opportunities out there.”

The 2021 Race to Costa del Sol winner, Atthaya Thitikul, is tied for sixth on 11-under alongside Nelly Korda, Hyo Joo Kim, Jin Young Ko and Charley Hull.

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Back-to-back 64s have Brooke Henderson leading the way from Nelly Korda at Amundi Evian Championship

Matt Smith — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 19:00:16 +0000

By Matt Smith
To go out on Day 1 of a major and shoot a 64 and you are usually in good shape for the weekend. To repeat the feat on the Friday and you have one eye on the trophy. That is where Canada’s Brooke Henderson finds herself at Evian-les-Bains as she takes a three-stroke lead into Saturday’s third round over world No. 3 Nelly Korda at the Amundi Evian Championship.

The 24-year-old Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ontario, carded eight birdies and only one bogey at the Evian Resort Golf Club, finishing with with three straight birdies to finish on a 36-hole total of 128, 14-under-par.

“It feels really nice to get off to a fast start in a major championship. It feels like it’s been a while. To get it this far under par is really awesome,” said Henderson, playing for her second major championship title this week, six years on from her first at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016.

Korda sits alone in second on 11-under-par after the 23-year-old from Florida shot a superb four-under-par 67.

She saved her best until last, with two mighty blows to the 18th green setting up an eagle putt from two-and-a-half feet, which she converted. Having saved par from the water in the first round, after removing her shoes and socks and standing ankle deep in the lake protecting the green, she decided that she would rather go long and used a 5-hybrid from 192 yards.

“It was nice, stress-free,” said former world No. 1. “Yesterday I was struggling with the ball below my feet. I was kind of hitting it out right I told myself, I’m going to aim a little bit more left, and I did actually fade it out to the right, and thank God I aimed a little left and it just turned out perfect.”

Korean pair Sei Young Kim and So Yeon Ryu are tied for third on nine-under.

The 2021 Race to Costa del Sol winner, Atthaya Thitikul, who finished fifth in the Amundi Evian Championship last year, is tied for fifth on eight-under-par with the 2014 champion, Hyo-Joo Kim of Korea, American pair Andrea Lee and Sophia Schubert, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and Perrine Delacour of France.

After two days of extreme heat and temperatures in the mid-30s, the forecast is for rain and storms overnight and into the morning hours. The course may play softer and longer on Saturday, presenting a different challenge for the players over the weekend.

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WATCH: Amundi Evian Championship — Shoeless Nelly Korda keeps her cool to save par from hazard

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 07:52:55 +0000

By Keely Levins
It was a hot one at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France, with temperatures hitting 33C during the first round of the Amundi Evian Championship. Nelly Korda found an unorthodox way to cool down: by hopping into a water hazard.

No pictures on the scorecard.@NellyKorda would go on to save par from here. ? pic.twitter.com/msW9SvI7hm

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 21, 2022

You can see Korda left her shoes and socks off to the side and got into the hazard barefoot. Though we don’t have a good look at the lie, getting the ball elevated from a pond is always a win. Getting it on to the green and into position for a par save is why Korda is the No. 3 player in the world.

The save came on the 18th hole, Korda’s ninth of the day as she started her round on the 10th tee. Korda was going for the green in two on the par 5 when her second shot found the water. After splashing out to the green, she two-putted for her 5. She went on to shoot a bogey-free seven-under 64, leaving her tied with Brooke Henderson and one shot behind first-round leader Ayaka Furue.

The Amundi Evian Championship is Korda’s fifth tournament — and third major — since returning from blood clot surgery earlier this season. She’s posted three top-10 finishes in her four previous starts.

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Charley Hull on the charge at Amundi Evian Championship as Ayaka Furue leads Nelly Korda in France

Matt Smith — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 07:19:36 +0000

By Matt Smith
Charley Hull is lurking just behind the leaders at the Amundi Evian Championship as the Kettering star seeks her first major.

The 26-year-old shot an opening five-under 66 to sit three behind first-round leader Ayaka Furue of Japan at Evian Resort Golf Club in France on Thursday.

Canadian Brooke Henderson and Nelly Korda of the United States are tied for second, while fellow American Cheyenne Knight lies in solo fourth.

Hull feels refreshed after three weeks spent at home “chilling”.

“It’s the English summer at the moment and a heatwave, so I would have missed out if I hadn’t taken a break,” said the Rolex Rankings No. 38. “I went for a lot of walks to get in my 15,000 steps per day and also had some enjoyable time in pub gardens.”

Hull started at the 10th and birdied the par-3 14th, the par-4 17th and the par-5 18th, before picking up three further shots at the par-3 second, the par-4 third and the par-4 sixth hole.

She said: “I played pretty solid all day, but it’s a Major and there are three more rounds, so anything can happen.”

This is her ninth appearance in the championship and she feels that she has the experience to navigate the sloping fairways and undulating greens.

“This course can be tricky to score around, but after eight or nine years you start to figure it out. I don’t really think too much, because the course where I grew up, Kettering Golf Club, is pretty much as slopey as this on the fairways, so I’m lucky I don’t have to think too much about adjusting, I’ve always automatically adjusted (to playing side hill lies).”

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Five players to watch at the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 08:05:35 +0000

By Keely Levins
The LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour join up once again for the fourth women’s major of the year — the Amundi Evian Championship in France. The top five players of the world are in the 132-woman field, including 14 of the 15 players who have won on the LPGA in 2022. They’ll be playing for the $6.5 million purse. In 2021, the tournament ended in a playoff after Autralia’s Minjee Lee rallied down the stretch, making birdies on four of her last five holes. On the first extra hole, Lee made another birdie to beat South Korean Jeongeun Lee6 and secure her first major title after starting the day seven shots off the lead.

Here are five players we’ll be keeping an eye on as play begins at the Evian Resort Golf Club:

Minjee Lee

Minjee Lee. Sarah Stier

Lee is the defending champion, having started a major roll in France last summer that extended to 2022 with a win the US Women’s Open at Pine Needles and a T-2 at the KPMG Women’s PGA at Congressional. Outside of the majors, the 26-year-old Australian has added a win and two other top-three finishes to her 2022 accomplishments. Given her results, it’s no surprise she’s climbed up the rankings and is now No. 2 in the world. She’s comfortable at the Evian Resort Golf Club and she loves the majors, because she loves pressure. She might not need a playoff to get it done this year.

Leona Maguire

Leona Maguire. David Cannon

In 2021, Maguire shot a final-round 61 at the Evian. With that round, the Irishwoman tied the lowest round ever shot by a professional golfer — male or female — in a major. Fast-forward to 2022, and Maguire is no longer an LPGA Tour rookie, and no longer winless on tour, either. She claimed the LPGA Drive On title in February and finished T-2 last month at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give against a stacked leaderboard. Though Maguire, 27, hit a snag early this week when an airline lost her clubs on the way to France, she was able to find them and might be primed for another historic week.

Jennifer Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho. Supplied

The 25-year-old from Colorado has already won three times in 2022, making her the most successful player on the LPGA Tour this season. One of those wins was a major: the Chevron Championship. Were she to win in France, it’d be the first time that an American has won two majors in one season since 1999, when Juli Inkster won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the US Women’s Open.

Jin Young Ko

Jin Young Ko. Douglas P DeFelice

The World No. 1 won the first event she played in 2022 but hasn’t won since. Her best finish in a major was fourth at the US Women’s Open, and she remains in the top five on tour in strokes gained/total on tour. Heading into the Evian, where Ko, 27, won in 2019, it feels like it’s time for the 2021 Player of the Year to win again.

Atthaya Thitikul

Atthaya Thitikul. Getty Images

The 19-year-old rookie from Thailand has one win this year and has been close on several other occasions. She quietly finsihed two shots back of In Gee Chun at the KPMG in June, her best career performance at a major. Her second-best finish was in 2021 at the Evian. She was four back of Lee, shooting three rounds in the 60s. Entering this year with more experience, she could be primed for her first major win.

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