Evian Championship
Evian Resort Golf Club
Evian-les-Bains, France
Third-Round Notes & Interviews
September 13, 2014

Interviews With:
Rolex Rankings No. 20 Hyo Joo Kim (-9)
Rolex Rankings No. 9 Karrie Webb (-8)
Rolex Rankings No. 212 Mi Jung Hur (-7)
Rolex Rankings No. 10 Anna Nordqvist (-5)
Rolex Rankings No. 28 Brittany Lincicome (-4)

South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim shot a 1-over 72 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead at the Evian Championship. The KLPGA member sits atop the leaderboard at 8-under par and will be paired with LPGA and World Golf Halls of Famer Karrie Webb (70) on Sunday in the final group. Webb trails Kim by just one shot and is seeking her eight major title this week. M.J. Hur sits in solo third at 6-under par while Anna Nordqvist (70) and Mariajo Uribe (70) are tied for fourth and three shots back.

Windy conditions in the afternoon and some challenging pin placements on Saturday provided a tough test for the field at Evian Resort Golf Club. High numbers popped up on the scoreboard throughout the day and provided plenty of movement on the leaderboard throughout the day.

Kim was 2-over through nine holes on Saturday but bounced back with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 12 and 13. The 19-year old said she was well aware of where she stood all day with leaderboards in front of her on many holes but said she didn’t mind. Making her major championship debut, Kim has shown nerves of steel through the first three rounds and says she’s not only excited for a chance to win, but is excited to hold the trophy.

“After winning I will be excited,” said Kim.

Webb attributed getting through an up-and-down day to keeping her emotions in check and her steely mental game.

“Yeah, sure was. Didn’t hit it very good early,” said Webb. “Well, I started off with a birdie. Two good swings down the first. Struggled a little bit there through the middle of the front nine. Really just hung in there. The conditions were challenging today with the breeze.”

The final three holes proved to be a challenge to many players on Saturday and Webb was please to finish on a high note. The par 3 16th hole was playing the most difficult while the 17th hole was ranked fourth.

“There are some really tough shots coming in. You know, 16, that was playing quite challenging today to pick the right club,” said Webb. “And you got to keep it right of the hole. It was a tough two-putt even from where I hit it. So challenging finish, but I did a really good job and finished the last four in 2-under. That really made my round.”

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Inbee Park shot 2-under 69 and moved into a tie for 10th and is five shots back. No. 1 Stacy Lewis (73) and defending champion Suzann Pettersen (74) struggled on Saturday and sit alongside Park on the leaderboard at 3-under par.

PRETTY MAJOR
Karrie Webb relishes the idea of contending for her eighth major title in France this week and also has a chance at history.

She’s currently tied for seventh with Juli Inkster with seven career major titles. She could move into a tie for sixth with Betsy Rawls with No. 8.

“Just happy to be in this position. It’s been a while. Since the start of the year really that I’ve has a legitimate chance to win a tournament,” said Webb. “So I feel good about where I’ve put myself. Proud of my scrambling the last couple days. Hopefully I’ve got a bit more of those in me tomorrow.”

Webb has two victories already this season but both came in her first four starts of 2014. Her performances in majors haven’t been dazzling; her best finish was a T11 at the Kraft Nabisco and finished T25 or worse in the other three.

She’s the only player in LPGA Tour history to win titles at five different majors, completing the “Super Career Grand Slam” when she won the 2002 Weetabix Women’s British Open. If she wins on Sunday, she would have wins at six different majors. When asked what she thinks the feat could be called, the veteran said ask her on Sunday if she has the trophy in her hands.

“Well, let’s wait and see if we have to think about it tomorrow,” said Webb. “Then we can talk about it.”

STILL IN IT
Second-round leader Brittany Lincicome stumbled out of the gate with two double bogeys on her first two holes and a triple bogey on the par 5 7th hole. She finished the round with a 6-over 77, dropping her into a tie for sixth and four shots back.

“I feel like I did all the same things I did yesterday,” said Lincicome. “The first hole we definitely hit the wrong iron into the hole. So obviously being above the pin I was dead. Then obviously just chipped it too far -- I didn’t chip it too far, it was just really fast. Next hole was really bad.”

Lincicome tried to regroup at turn but had three birdies and three bogeys on the back nine to finish with a 77. With such a high round a major, the three-time LPGA winner was pleased to see she is only four shots back heading into Sunday.

“Just looking at the leaderboard obviously one player is doing really, really well, and then there are a couple others that are fairly close to me,” said Lincicome. “If I can shoot what I shot yesterday or the day before that tomorrow, I feel like it should put me back in the hunt.”

Lincicome has been playing great golf as of late and is aiming for her first LPGA title since the 2011 CN Canadian Women’s Open and her second career major (2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship).

FINAL-ROUND DRAMA for the RAMA
The fight for the inaugural Rolex ANNIKA Major Award will come down to the final 18 holes of the major championship season. Several players in contention for the honor are near the top of the Evian Championship leaderboard and will have one final shot on Sunday to claim the award.

Brittany Lincicome made things harder on herself after posting a 77 on Saturday but still has a chance with a great final round performance. She sits four shots back with 18 holes to play.

Lincicome will need a win at the Evian Championship to be eligible for the award as one requirement of the season-long honor is a major victory.

If Lincicome can capture a victory at the Evian Championship and Inbee Park finishes worse than fifth, Lincicome would walk away with the inaugural Rolex ANNIKA Major Award. Park is currently tied for 10th. Although Lincicome would be tied for the lead in points (84) with Michelle Wie, she would win by the tiebreaker* (see below).

Both Wie and Lincicome would each have one win and one runner-up finish this year in majors, but Wie did not post another finish at the majors this season while Lincicome had a T15 finish at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Other players who need a win this week to have a shot at the inaugural Rolex ANNIKA Major Award are Rolex Rankings No. 1 Stacy Lewis (T10), Shanshan Feng (T19) and Suzann Pettersen (T10). Lexi Thompson (T13), Wie and Park are already automatically qualified based on their major wins this season. RICOH Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin is no longer in the running as she was not in the field this week at the Evian Championship due to injury.

*In the event of a tie in total points after the final Major Championship of the season, the award will be given to the Player with the most Major Championship wins. If there is the same number of wins, the award will be given to the Player with the most second-place Major Championship finishes; if there is the same number of second place finishes, the tie will be broken by the most third-place Major Championship finishes. This pattern will continue until the tie is broken.

Current Rolex ANNIKA Major Award Point Standings and Position at the Evian Championship after three rounds:

Rank	Player	Points	Position
1	Michelle Wie	84	WD
2	Inbee Park	74	T10
3	Lexi Thompson	68	T13
4	Mo Martin	60	DNP
5	Stacy Lewis	52	T10
6	Shanshan Feng	52	T19
7	Suzann Pettersen	34	T10
8	Brittany Lincicome	24	T6
Points Structure for Rolex ANNIKA Major Award at Major Championships

1st place - 60 pts.; 2nd place - 24 pts.; 3rd place - 18 pts.; 4th place - 14 pts.; 5th place - 12 pts.; 6th place - 10 pts.; 7th place - 8 pts.; 8th place - 6 pts.; 9th place - 4 pts.; 10th place - 2 pts.

FINAL-ROUND TV TIMES
Sept. 14 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Sept. 14 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. (NBC)
All times listed are Eastern

The Evian Championship Third-Round Notes and Interviews

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