For the past 13 years, the LPGA Tour’s stop in France has held an international reputation as one of the most exceptional golf tournaments on its schedule. Previously known as the Evian Masters Presented by Société Générale, the event was played on one of the finest golf courses in Evian-les-Bains, France overlooking the shores of Lake Geneva and featured one of the highest non-major payouts of the season.

This year, the tournament is elevated to major championship status and is now played as the season’s fifth and final major. The inaugural Evian Championship will be played on the elegantly re-designed Evian Resort Golf Club and will feature a strong international field comprised of 120 players from the LPGA and Ladies European Tour.

Competition will be at an all-time high as tournament has a rich history for bringing in the best of women’s golf. Highlighting this year’s field is current world No. 1 and defending champion Inbee Park, whose 2012 victory marked the start of one of the most unbelievable stints of golf in LPGA history. The 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champion ended a four-year winless drought and rounded out the 2012 season with 10 top-10s and another victory at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.

She carried that success over to the 2013 season, recording a total of six victories this season and holds dominant leads in the LPGA Official Money list and Rolex Player of the Year races. She is seeking to become the first South Korean to claim Player of the Year honors at season’s end. This week, the 25-year-old South Korean seeks to become the first golfer – male or female – to win four professional major championships in a single season with a victory on Sunday.

No. 2 Stacy Lewis will also be a favorite to win this week after claiming her second-career major victory at the RICOH Women’s British Open in August. The 28-year-old notched her 13^th top-10 finish of the season at the Safeway Classic last month, the most on Tour this season.

The Evian Championship will be played September 12 through the 15 and will be featured on Golf Channel all four days with additional final round coverage on NBC. The first and second rounds will air from 7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EST while the third round will air from 6:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Golf Channel will feature the final round from 8:30 a.m. - noon EST with NBC picking up the final holes from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Competition will be at an all-time high for the fifth and final major

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