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

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

Golf Digest montage

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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The Ladies European Tour returns to action in France with Jabra Ladies Open

Matt Smith — Mon, 08 May 2023 13:21:18 +0000

The Ladies European Tour gets back in the swing this week after a prolonged break, and it is a fitting venue to welcome some of the world’s best golfers as they prepare to tee it up at the Jabra Ladies Open.

The historic Evian Resort Golf Club in France is the destination for the sixth event of the season following a well-earned rest for the players at the Aramco Team Series – Singapore.

More than 130 players will vie for the for the €300,000 prize money over three days from from this Thursday at the home of the Evian Championship major.

Among the contenders are super Swede Linn Grant, defending champion Tiia Koivisto from Finland and former champions Pia Babnik and Annabel Dimmock.

Tiia Koivisto is the defending champion. LET

Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino will be looking continue her hot streak alongside England’s Lily May Humphreys. This fifth year the Jabra Ladies Open has been staged on the LET schedule.

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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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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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Amundi Evian Championship: Round 1 timings and pairings

Matt Smith — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 09:28:30 +0000

By Matt Smith
The cream of women’s golf arrive at Evian-les-Bains for the year’s penultimate major this week, the Amundi Evian Championship, as the likes of Maja Stark, Linn Grant, Hyo-Joo Kim, Jeongeun Lee6, Leona Maguire, Minjee Lee, Jin Young Ko, Anna Nordqvist, In Gee Chun, Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda and Atthaya Thitikul vie for the record $6.5 million purse.

Jin Young Ko

Here are Thursday’s full tee times and pairings
Hole 1
07.15
Agathe Laisne (FRA)
Sophia Schubert (USA)
Jennifer Chang (USA)
07.27
Lauren Stephenson (USA)
Gemma Dryburgh (SCO)
Wichanee Meechai (THA)
07.39
Alana Uriell (USA)
Ruixin Liu (CHN)
Chella Choi (KOR)
07.51
Wei Ling Hsu (TPE)
Benedetta Moresco (ITA)
Bronte Law (ENG)
08.03
Eun-Hee Ji (KOR)
Sophia Popov (GER)
So Yeon Ryu (KOR)
08.15
Jodi Ewart Shadoff (ENG)
Jasmine Suwannapura (THA)
Cristie Kerr (USA)
08.27
In-Kyung Kim (KOR)
Sarah Schmelzel (USA)
Andrea Lee (USA)
08.39
Jennifer Song (USA)
Charlotte Thomas (ENG)
Angel Yin (USA)
08.51
Frida Kinhult (SWE)
Stephanie Kyriacou (AUS)
Yealimi Noh (USA)
09.03
Janie Jackson (USA)
Magdalena Simmermacher (ARG)
Yuna Nishimura (JPN)
09.15
Yu Liu (CHN)
Lee-Anne Pace (RSA)
Amanda Doherty (USA)

Maja Stark

Hole 10
07.15
Pornanong Phatlum (THA)
Yaeeun Hong (KOR)
Jeongeun Lee 5 (KOR)
07.27
Isi Gabsa (GER)
Valery Plata (COL)
Emma Talley (USA)
07.39
Rose Zhang (USA)
Albane Valenzuela (SUI)
Sung Hyun Park (KOR)
07.51
Lizette Salas (USA)
Maja Stark (SWE)
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (DEN)
08.03
Brooke M Henderson (CAN)
Jessica Korda (USA)
Sei Young Kim (KOR)
08.15
Jin Young Ko (KOR)
Anna Nordqvist (SWE)
Lydia Ko (NZL)
08.27
In Gee Chun (KOR)
Jennifer Kupcho (USA)
Minjee Lee (AUS)
08.39
Rachel Heck (USA)
Atthaya Thitikul (THA)
Tiia Koivisto (FIN)
08.51
Morgane Metraux (SUI)
Anna Davis (USA)
Sanna Nuutinen (FIN)
09.03
Min Ji Park (KOR)
Manon De Roey (BEL)
Mizuki Hashimoto (JPN)
09.15
Mel Reid (ENG)
Aditi Ashok (IND)
Cheyenne Knight (USA)

Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn

Hole 1
12.15
Gina Kim (USA)
Amy Olson (USA)
Haeji Kang (KOR)
12.27
Su Oh (AUS)
Brittany Altomare (USA)
Amy Yang (KOR)
12.39
Ashleigh Buhai (RSA)
Paula Reto (RSA)
Maude-Aimee Leblanc (CAN)
12.51
Madelene Sagstrom (SWE)
Na Rin An (KOR)
Lilia Vu (USA)
13.03
Pajaree Anannarukarn (THA)
Ally Ewing (USA)
Xi Yu Lin (CHN)
13.15
Allisen Corpuz (USA)
Ariya Jutanugarn (THA)
Moriya Jutanugarn (THA)
13.27
A Lim Kim (KOR)
Marina Alex (USA)
Jenny Shin (KOR)
13.39
Jeongeun Lee6 (KOR)
Caroline Masson (GER)
Stephanie Meadow (NIR)
13.51
Lauren Coughlin (USA)
Esther Henseleit (GER)
Sarah Kemp (AUS)
14.03
Marianne Skarpnord (NOR)
Ryann O’Toole (USA)
Georgia Hall (ENG)
14.15
Jenny Coleman (USA)
Mao Saigo (JPN)
Meghan MacLaren (ENG)

Nelly Korda

Hole 10
12.15
Alison Lee (USA)
Peiyun Chien (TPE)
Annie Park (USA)
12.27
Megan Khang (USA)
Kelly Tan (MAS)
Aline Krauter (GER)
12.39
Pauline Roussin (FRA)
Johanna Gustavsson (SWE)
Jess Baker (ENG)
12.51
Hannah Green (AUS)
Ayaka Furue (JPN)
Hyo-Joo Kim (KOR)
13.03
Patty Tavatanakit (THA)
Gaby Lopez (MEX)
Hinako Shibuno (JPN)
13.15
Nelly Korda (USA)
Celine Boutier (FRA)
Yuka Saso (PHI)
13.27
Angela Stanford (USA)
Inbee Park (KOR)
Linn Grant (SWE)
13.39
Hye Jin Choi (KOR)
Mina Harigae (USA)
Leona Maguire (IRL)
13.51
Carlota Ciganda (ESP)
Charley Hull (ENG)
Nasa Hataoka (JPN)
14.03
Pia Babnik (SLO)
Perrine Delacour (FRA)
Jensen Castle (USA)
14.15
Lindsey Weaver-Wright (USA)
Olivia Cowan (GER)
Matilda Castren (FIN)

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Ladies European Tour: Aramco Series team champ Hillier joins hole-in-one party at Jabra Ladies Open in France

Matt Smith — Sat, 21 May 2022 08:13:36 +0000

By Matt Smith
Whitney Hillier joined the hole-in-one party at the eighth hole of the Evian Resort Club to take the lead in the Jabra Ladies Open.

The Australian became the fourth player in two days to ace the hole, and is now in the driving seat to follow up her Aramco Team Series — Bangkok success with another victory, this time in France.

Hillier, who led her side to the team title in Bangkok last week, used her 8-iron to hole out from 140 yards on a warm and windy afternoon in Evian-Les-Bains.

Earlier, Amy Boulden, Felicity Johnson and Aditi Ashok all holed hrom the tee on the eighth in the same tournament.

Hillier held on to post a level-par round of 71 for a 36-hole total of four-under-par and takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the tournament, where the winner will earn a place in The Amundi Evian Championship.

The recent South African Women’s Open champion Lee-Anne Pace and the first-round leader Carmen Alonso share second position.

A stroke further back in a tie for fourth, Maggie Simmermacher had the round of the day – a five-under-par 66 – to sit alongside Tiia Koivisto and Johanna Gustavsson.

.@WhitneyHillier aced the par-three eighth hole at the Jabra Ladies Open today, which gives us an excellent excuse to wheel out this old gem ?

Mike Dean certainly enjoyed that one! ?#RaiseOurGame | #JabraLadiesOpen pic.twitter.com/ja8Dfvo19B

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) May 20, 2022

But Hillier was all smiles on the second day.

She said: “I’ve just been laughing all day long with George, my caddie.

“This was my fifth hole-in-one, so it was pretty special. I saw that two players had already made hole in ones this morning so it was in my head and then it just happened.

“I’ve had two holes-in-one this year already, one in Melbourne: crazy.

Hillier won the Team element of the Aramco Team Series — Bangkok at the weekend, but is yet to taste an individual victory on the LET.

While former Order of Merit winner Pace has 11 LET titles on her resume, Alonso is also gunning for her first win on Tour.

She said: “The beginning was OK, it wasn’t windy and the sun was out, but the last ten holes were hard with the wind, and on this course it’s really tough.”

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Ladies European Tour: Carmen sings at Jabra Ladies Open in France

Matt Smith — Fri, 20 May 2022 06:30:10 +0000

Carmen Alonso. LET

By Matt Smith
Spaniard Carmen Alonso took a one-stroke lead in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian-Les-Bains in France on Thursday thanks to an opening five-under 66.

Alonso, 25th on the Ladies European Tour Race to Costa del Sol, had a poor start on the 15th after a shotgun start, but a birdie-par-eagle run before the turn got her in her stride and she added further birdies on the third and seventh holes before carding a second bogey on the eighth and then made further gains at the 10th and 14th.

“This course is really challenging, so you have to focus all the time. If you miss a shot, you don’t have too many chances to recover, so I’m really happy with the round,” said Alonso, now in her 18th year on the LET.

She was helped by fellow LET professional Maria Beautell on caddie duties, the pair having achieved a tie for 13th in the Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open a fortnight ago.

“This year, I’m hitting the ball the same as in previous years but Maria is helping me around the greens, especially with the breaks,” Alonso said. “She is always positive, telling me that I am always doing a good job, so I follow her rules and it’s working.”

The winner of this week’s tournament will earn a place in the $6.5 million Evian Championship, the only Major in continental Europe, to be played in July at the same venue, and so there is fierce competition for the first prize.

Australian Whitney Hillier, who won the Team competition in last week’s Aramco Team Series— Bangkok signed for a four-under-par 67 to lie in second place alongside LET rookie Gabrielle Macdonald from Scotland.

Hillier said: “It was a pretty hot start, to be honest. I took advantage of the pure greens and just had fun out there. The course is in great condition and the weather is very nice, so I’m enjoying myself.

Johanna Gustavsson, Karolin Lampert, Carolin Kauffmann, Billie-Jo Smith and Leonie Harm are a stroke further back in a tie for fourth on three-under-par 68.

Gustavsson, who has recorded three second-place finishes already this season, commented: “I played quite solid. I hit some tee shots well and feel like I could have holed some more putts, but overall it was a nice, stress-free day.”

A win on Saturday would be a double cause for celebration for the Swede, as she will be going home to get married next weekend.

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Minjee Lee captures her first major with a record-tying seven-shot comeback

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 05:21:39 +0000

Minjee Lee celebrates after winning the Amundi Evian Championship. PHILIPPE DESMAZES

By Kent Paisley
Just before the start of Minjee Lee’s victory press conference at the Amundi Evian Championship, she was muttering to herself.

“I just can’t believe it,” Lee said.

It succinctly described the historic 18-under-par effort for Lee’s first victory in a major. The serenity of the Evian Resort Golf Club, nestled in the mountains overlooking Lake Geneva, masked the mayhem that unfolded Sunday for Lee to join Hall of Famers Patty Sheehan and Karrie Webb as the three to come from seven shots behind to win an LPGA major.

Lee did so on Sunday by birdieing four of the last five holes to shoot a seven-under 64 and get into a playoff with Jeongeun Lee6, the third-round leader who stumbled with a 71. Lee then won on the first extra hole, the 18th, with a birdie.

“I’m speechless,” said Lee, a 25-year-old Australian who now has six LPGA Tour wins. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long. It just feels unreal to have won. Just even in the playoff, and all throughout today, I played really well to get myself in that position, and I’m just really happy.”

Seven-shot comebacks require two things to happen. The leader needs to falter, and the chaser needs to go low. At the 1983 LPGA Championship, Sheehan overcame a seven-stroke deficit with a 66, passing 54-hole leader Sandra Haynie’s 75 for a two-shot victory. Webb’s seven-shot comeback at the 2006 Kraft Nabisco (now ANA Inspiration) was accomplished with a final-round 65 to Lorena Ochoa’s 72, with the Aussie winning in a playoff.

Lee6 shot even par, including 39 on the front nine, to open the door for Lee. Lee6 birdied the first hole, creating the sense she might break the recent trend of Sunday leaders at the Evian Championship struggling to close. But five painful bogeys followed on her front nine, including three in a row from the third to the fifth. Lee6 lost the lead on the eighth, with Yealimi Noh catching her at 15 under.

“I feel just no good [on the front],” Lee6 said. “I tried my best, but results were no good.”

The dreadful front side for Lee6 swung the door open for the chasers. Lee finished the front with a three-under 32 to sit at 14 under, one back of Noh, while 2015 Evian winner Lydia Ko was at 13 under.

Lee kept the scoring chances flowing, with makeable birdie opportunities on Nos. 10 through 13, but she was still two behind Noh. It was then that a conversation with her caddie of four years, Jason Gilroyed, seemed to turn the momentum around.

“Gilly, my caddie, said, ‘You know, you have a chance to win your first major championship, so why don’t you just give it a go,’” Lee recalled. “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m trying.’ But we just kind of had that chat and then the next hole I birdied.”

Jeongeun Lee6 looks on after playing her shot from the fourth tee during day four of the Amundi Evian Championship. STUART FRANKLIN

The scoring burst open from there, with Lee making birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 18 to finish at 18 under.

Lee walked off the 18th as Lee6 and Noh, two back each, had short birdie putts on the 17th. Lee figured at least one of them would catch her and went to the practice green to stay loose. Lee marched back and forth from hitting putts to walking towards the 18th green whenever the crowd made noise.

Noh and Lee6 made their birdies on the 17th, and both pursuers had chances on the 18th. Lee6 hit the 455-yard par-5 in two, and Noh set up an eight-foot putt for birdie after laying up from the rough.

Lee6’s eagle bid ran three feet past the hole, nearly completing a miraculous come-from-behind victory of her own. After Noh missed her chance to get into a playoff, Lee, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open champion, punched home her third consecutive birdie to scramble back to 18 under, right where she started Sunday.

Lee and Lee6 loaded up into carts to head back to the 18th for their sudden-death playoff, with Lee 0-2 and Lee6 0-1 in their LPGA playoff careers. Lee said she thought about the eagle Ko made to beat her in her last playoff appearance at the 2018 LPGA Mediheal Championship and wanted to break her playoff drought.

Lee had shot five under on the 18th for the week before teeing off first in the playoff. Both players hit the fairway before Lee’s approach that won the championship. “I think the yardage was for 5-iron but with adrenaline and everything Gilly was like, ‘Let’s go 6-iron,’” Lee explained. “[I] hit a good 6-iron and it was like six feet from the hole. It worked out.”

Lee’s strike put the pressure on Lee6, who thinned her second into the water in front of the green. It became a formality for Lee’s birdie to win the playoff and join Webb, Jan Stephenson, and Hannah Green as the four Australians to win majors in LPGA history.

“They’re just all amazing people and amazing golfers, too,” Lee said. “You know, it just has a really nice ring to it.”

Lee’s win marks nine consecutive majors on the LPGA won by first-time major champions, dating back to Hinako Shibuno at the 2019 AIG Women’s Open.

It’s two playoff victories in three weeks for the Lee family, as her younger brother, Min Woo Lee, won the Scottish Open in a three-way playoff. Minjee Lee will fly to Dallas to see her brother before heading to Tokyo to represent Australia at the Olympics.

“The Olympics have been on the back of my mind since Rio,” said Lee, who tied for seventh in Brazil in 2016. “So I’m really excited to play and go out there and rep my country.”

She will do so as a major champion now.

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Moriya Jutanugarn’s 68 gives her lead at Evian Championship in pursuit of first LPGA win

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 05:03:31 +0000

Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand plays a shot during the second round of the Evian Championship. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

By Brittany Romano
Moriya Jutanugarn’s three-under par 68 on Saturday puts the 23-year-old in contention not only to win her first LPGA tournament, but also a major.

This season has been ripe with first-time major winners after Danielle Kang won the KPMG PGA Championship and Sung Hyun Park won at the U.S. Women’s Open. Jutanugarn, who will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round, has eight top-10 finishes this year and is itching to earn that number one spot soon.

“I want to win my first tournament,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m trying to put myself in a good position, and when it’s my time, probably it will turn out good.”

Her younger sister, Ariya, was the first golfer from Thailand to win a major championship after taking home the trophy at the 2016 Women’s British Open. Ariya did not make the cut; she was tied at 111th and nine over, the exact opposite of Moriya’s nine-under standing.

Ayako Uehara of Japan fired a second-round 68 at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. She had seven birdies and moved into second place. Uehara began the second round T8. The 33-year old LPGA veteran has only one other top 10 this season, a T6 finish in July at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

First-round leader Sung Hyun Park struggled early Saturday, bogeying the first and third holes, then three more on the back nine. Park is three shots behind the lead, tied for fourth with Lydia Ko and In-Kyung Kim, but the deficit doesn’t concern her.

“I didn’t play well today, so I have a little gap from the top players,” Park said. “But personally, I feel more comfortable to actually chase those top players from the back.”

And chase she will have to do Sunday during the final round. After the tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to severe weather, players have one fewer round to improve their standings.

Katherine Kirk maintained her third-place standing a fter posting a 69. Two back from the leaders, she’s enjoying this resurgence late in her career. Kirk won the Thornberry Creek LPGA classic earlier this year, her first win since 2010.

“Yeah, it’s just nice to know you can still do it at 35 years old and as one of the older players out here,” Kirk said. “I can win out here, and just keep believing and keep doing the right things, and you never know what happens.”

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