The Evian Championship marks the fifth and final major in the 2015 LPGA season. Played at the rennovated Evian Resort Golf Club, The Evian Championship became a major on the LPGA Tour in 2013. Suzann Pettersen (2013) and Hyo Joo Kim (2014) are the first two winners of the Championship with major distinction.
The Evian Masters became an LPGA co-sanctioned event in 2000 and below is a list of the past winners: 2012 - Inbee Park; 2011 - Ai Miyazato; 2010 - Jiyai Shin; 2009 - Ai Miyazato; 2008 - Helen Alfredsson; 2007 - Natalie Gulbis; 2006 - Karrie Webb; 2005 - Paula Creamer; 2004 - Wendy Doolan; 2003 - Juli Inkster; 2002 - Annika Sorenstam; 2001 - Rachel Teske; 2000 - Annika Sorenstam
Players To Watch This Week
This week’s Evian Championship is an opportunity for players to not only secure their schedule for the rest of the year but also for 2016. As the season’s final full field event of 2015, the Evian Championship is the players’ last chance to play themselves into the Asian swing of events and also into the top-100 on the money list – the threshold for avoiding the LPGA’s Qualifying School in December.
Here are some of the players to watch this week and their current rank on the official money list:
| Name | Rank | Official Money |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Hernandez | 103 | $62,995 |
| Thidapa Suwannapura | 102 | $63,340 |
| Joanna Klatten | 101 | $63,378 |
| SooBin Kim | 100 | $63,522 |
| Jodi Ewart Shadoff | 99 | $65,271 |
| Belen Mozo | 98 | $67,935 |
| Sadena Parks | 97 | $69,680 |
| Sarah Kemp | 96 | $71,343 |
It’s not just those on the threshold of the top 100 that will be closely watching the leaderboard and the subsequent money list either. The Evian Championship serves as the last shot to play their way into Asia, where the fields are limited to strictly the Tour’s best. Only a top-72 finish in the Race to the CME Globe points or a win guarantee players entry into the CME Group Tour Championship at the end of the season and to get there, they’ll need to play their way into the five-week Asian Swing, which requires, at worst, a top-62 spot on the money list to get into the first event – the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. From there, the requirements only get stricter – top-61 at Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, top-58 at the KEB HanaBank, and Blue Bay LPGA and top-43 at TOTO Japan Classic.
Either way, there will be a lot more riding next week on the Evian Championship than just a major championship. First Things First
The upcoming two-week stretch is one that many American and European players have had circled on their calendar. A lot buzz has been about the event that happens only every two years, the Solheim Cup, which will be held next week in St. Leon-Rot, Germany. But every player who is set to compete in the year’s final major this week in France has their sights on being the Tour’s next major champion.
Morgan Pressel will make her 10th appearance at the Evian this week and has set the expectation to take it one week at a time. The youngest major champ in LPGA Tour history has her attention on the immediate task at hand, winning major No. 2. “I think everybody’s talking about it so certainly it’s been in the front of everyone’s mind here with a huge major championship, the last one of the year and then going next week with both teams playing here it’s certainly something that people are talking about,” said Pressel. “But at the end of the day if I can play well this week, that gives me a lot of confidence going into next week.”“I’m here. I’m here. I came here to win this tournament and not just to prepare for Solheim Cup,” said Pressel. “So that’s kind of the way that I’m trying to put as much energy into certainly getting out, feeling around the golf course like we all did this morning and trying to be prepared come Thursday.”
Hey Rookie
Alison Lee will make the trip to Germany with an obvious distinction heading to the Solheim Cup: the only player on either team making her first appearance at one of golf’s biggest events. The 20-year old from California earned a spot on Team USA based on her Rolex Ranking at the cutoff date two weeks ago. Lee is currently ranked 29th in the world thanks to a strong LPGA rookie campaign and said she’s going into next week with expecations based off of her three Junior Solheim Cup team experiences. She’s been on the cheering side since 2009 and but is now ready to be on the receiving end.
“First of all, this being my first Solheim Cup, I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen, and I obviously have played in several Junior Solheim Cups so I know what it’s like to be there and to cheer on Team USA,” said Lee. “But being able to play on the team this year and actually be one to represent my country, I’m just super excited.”
Lee has had five top-10 finishes this season on Tour including a career-best third-place finish at the Kingsmill Championship and currently ranks fifth in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race. The UCLA Bruin said one of her biggest goals this year was to play in the Solheim Cup and thinks she’ll be ant an advantage making her debut on European soil.
“Ever since I turned pro definitely Solheim Cup was on my mind because I played in three Junior Solheim Cups, so to me, it’s always been a dream of mine to actually play in the Solheim Cup,” said Lee. “I’m actually kind of glad it’s in Europe this year. I feel like it will be a little less nerve-racking because there won’t be, obviously, as many U.S. supporters out there. But I feel like that’s going to be to my advantage so I won’t be as nervous.”
Quick Hits
- Jaye Marie Green was ranked No. 203 in the Rolex Rankings on July 6, 2015. In her next seven events, she had five top-20 finishes and two top-10 finishes and has jumped to No. 97 in the Rolex Rankings.
- Lexi Thompson has one win and three top-10 finishes in her last five starts.
- Inbee Park is leading the Race to the CME Globe with 3,726 points and is being chased by Lydia Ko (3,268), Stacy Lewis (2,704) and Sei Young Kim (2,475)
Quotes of the Day
“I don’t know, prepare for some booing, prepare for some European chants, I have no clue. I’m just preparing for anything, and I’m just going to go out there and kind of clear everything and make as many birdies with my partner as possible. I’m going to do my usual fist pumps and just, I don’t know, it will be fun. But I’m always the proving-people-wrong-kind of attitude, so I’m just going to say bring it on and we’ll see who comes out on top on Sunday.”
Lizette Salas on playing in the Solheim Cup for the first time on European soil
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