Evian Championship 2021 preview - by WPGA Tour

The LPGA and Ladies European Tours return to The Evian Resort in France this week for the first time in two years, for the fourth women`s major championship of the year, the Amundi Evian Championship. The tournament will be played over 72 holes from 22nd and 25th July with prizemoney of US$4,500,000 on offer.

The Champions Course at Evian Resort Golf Club overlooks the picturesque Lake Geneva and boasts some of the most spectacular views in golf, has hosted this event since its inception on the Ladies European Tour in 1994 as the Evian Masters.
The par 71 course this week will play at 6530 yards, by no means the longest course on the LPGA Tour, but the narrow fairways and sloping terrain will provide a tough challenge for the 144 competitors.

Due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Championship did not take place, so the defending champion this week will be former Rolex Rankings number 1  Jin Young Ko, who finished an impressive 15-under-par in winning the tournament back in 2019.

The 26-year-old now World No.2 returns to Evian in winning form, having claimed her eighth career LPGA title at the Volunteers of America Classic earlier in July.
The South Korean, who was leapfrogged by Nelly Korda for the number one spot following the American’s win at the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, has never missed the cut in Evian and will be looking to reclaim that number 1 spot back this week with a win.

The recently crowned World No.1 Korda arrives in France in scintillating form, having won back-to-back tournaments in her last two individual starts including her maiden major title at the Women’s PGA Championship.

The soon-to-be 23-year-old’s legend in the women`s game is quickly rising, she already has six LPGA Tour titles to her credit, three of which have come in 2021.
Though the youngest of the Korda sisters uncharacteristically missed the cut last month at the US Women`s Open, she is fast becoming a regular contender at the majors, where she has earned three top-15s from her four most recent starts. It would be a huge shock if the talented American was not in contention come Sunday.

The five-strong Australian contingent of Minjee Lee, Su Oh, Katherine Kirk, Sarah Kemp and Stephanie Kyriacou will all be hoping that they can emulate past Evian champions Karrie Webb, Rachel Teske and Wendy Doolan, with Lee looking on paper to have the best credentials.
The 25-year-old has built an impressive resume in her six years on the LPGA Tour, however, the Perth native comes to Evian without her A-game and for the first time in her career will not start a major championship as one of the favourites.

This week will mark the West Australian’s 36th start in a major championship, and with a number of the worlds leading players missing this week as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, may offer one Lee her best opportunity yet, even though she would be the first to admit her form over the past 18-months has not met her own lofty standards.

Ranked as high as 2 in the Rolex Rankings back in April 2019, Lee is hanging on to the mantle as Australia’s top-ranked player by the skin of her teeth. She is currently ranked at 15th in the world rankings just one place ahead of compatriot Hannah Green, who has decided to skip this week’s event to return home to Australia to prepare for the Olympic Games where she will join Lee as our representatives in the women`s golf event.
Lee is yet to register a top-10 finish in Evian and both her driving and her usually silky short game will need to be at their best this week if the Aussie is to contend.

Sydney’s Steph Kyriacou comes to Evian in hot form so far in 2021, she has a win to her credit earlier this month on the Ladies European Tour in the Netherlands, and will not feel out of place this week competing alongside the world best players from the LPGA Tour.
Kyriacou may well be the dark horse of the Aussie brigade this week, however, she may well have a “bolters” chance this week if she finds her best form from tee to green and that silky putting touch survives the demands of the testing Evian greens.

PAST AUSSIE WINNERS: Karrie Webb (2006), Wendy Doolan (2004) and Rachel Teske (2001). The event did not receive its major status until 2013.

AUSTRALIANS IN THE FIELD: Sarah Kemp, Katherine Kirk, Steph Kyriacou, Minjee Lee, Su Oh.

AUSTRALIAN TEE TIMES – CENTRAL EUROPEAN TIME
8:18 am Katherine Kirk, Cristina Kim, Azahara Munoz
12:51 pm Minjee Lee. Jeongeun Lee6, Sung Hyun Park
1:03 pm Sarah Kemp, Chella Choi, Jasmine Suwannapura
1:15 pm Stephanie Kyriacou, Ashleigh Buhai, Brittany Altomare
2:03 pm Su Oh, Elizabeth Szokol, Tsubasa Kajitana (a)

TV TIMES- AEST
Round 1: Thursday (Fox Sports 503 LIVE FROM 7:00pm)
Round 2: Friday (Fox Sports 503 LIVE FROM 7:00pm)
Round 3: Saturday (Fox Sports 505 LIVE 7:30pm – 1am)
Round 4: Sunday (Fox Sports 505 LIVE 7:30pm – 1am)