Click here for complete groups and tee times for the opening rounds of the 2018 Evian Championship.
*All tee times are local.
Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, Minjee Lee
8:14 a.m. – 10th Tee
Lexi Thompson, the fifth-ranked player in the Rolex Rankings, has a lot to play for this week at the Evian Championship. The world’s top ranked American remains in search of her first win of the season, and should she win on Sunday, could receive another huge honor. At No. 5 in the world, Thompson could move to No. 1 in the world rankings for the first time in her career with a win on Sunday. She’s twice finished runner-up in Evian dating back to 2010, before the event became a major championship. Thompson is grouped with Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee during the opening rounds in Evian. Henderson is already a two-time winner in 2018 and in search of her second major victory. The Canadian has three starts in Evian where her best finish came in a T9 in 2016. Lee is one of the hottest players this season with 10 top 10s and a victory on the year. She’s finished fourth in her last two starts as she looks to win her first major championship this weekend.
Anna Nordqvist, Moriya Jutanugarn, Nasa Hataoka
8:25 a.m. – 10th Tee
Defending champion Anna Nordqvist returns to Evian in hopes of picking up her first win of the year. Nordqvist has consistently played well in France where, in addition to her victory, she has two more top 10 finishes. She is grouped with Moriya Jutanugarn and Nasa Hataoka during the opening rounds. Jutanugarn is in the midst of career best season on the LPGA Tour with six top 10s and her first victory on Tour in 2018. Twice she has finished in the top 10 in Evian including a T3 finish in 2017. Hataoka is trending towards her first major victory. She broke through for her first win on Tour in June at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and has a total of seven top 10s this season, including her last two starts. The second-year member is making her Evian Championship debut this week.
Carlota Ciganda, Shanshan Feng, In Gee Chun
8:36 a.m. – 10th Tee
Carlota Ciganda makes her seventh start in Evian this week, where she recorded her best finish in 2016 with a T17. Ciganda has been a consistent presence on leaderboards in 2018 with five top 10s as she remains in search of her first win since 2016. The Spaniard will play the opening rounds alongside Shanshan Feng and In Gee Chun. Feng tends to find success late in the season and with five top 10s and no win yet in 2018, the trend looks to be continuing for the Olympic bronze medalist. She’s come close to winning in Evian with a top 10 finish the last four years. Chun recorded her second major victory in Evian in 2016. That year, she finished at a major championship record 21-under par with rounds of 63-66-65-69. The Korean remains in the hunt for her first win of the season with three top 10s in 2018.
Cristie Kerr, Lydia Ko, Hyo Joo Kim
12:48 p.m. – 1st Tee
Veteran Cristie Kerr returns to the Evian Championship where she hasn’t missed a year since 2001, well before the event became a major championship on the LPGA schedule. Kerr has two top 10s in 2018 and has had a busy year off the course as she welcomed her second child via surrogate earlier this month. She will play Thursday and Friday’s rounds alongside two Evian champions in Lydia Ko and Hyo Joo Kim. Ko won her first major title in France in 2015 and has three more top 10s at Evian including a T3 in 2018. Kim carded a record opening round of 61, the lowest round in a major championship, en route to capturing the 2014 Evian Championship for her first win on Tour. Kim has contended in one event this season at the U.S. Women’s Open where she lost in a playoff to Ariya Jutanugarn.
Pernilla Lindberg, Inbee Park, So Yeon Ryu
1:10 p.m. – 1st Tee
Three winners in 2018, Pernilla Lindberg, Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu, are grouped together during the opening rounds of the Evian Championship. Lindberg won the season’s first major championship by defeating her playing partner, Inbee Park, in an epic playoff that took an extra day to complete. Lindberg has struggled since that victory in April with just one other top 10 in 2018. Park has also had her share of struggles this season as she missed the cut in the last two major championships of 2018. But the LPGA Hall of Famer has a lot to play for this week as she has an opportunity to return to No. 1 in the world with a win or runner-up finish in Evian this weekend. Her close friend, So Yeon Ryu, can also reach number one with a win or second place finish at Evian. Ryu has twice finished in the top 5 at Evian where she looks to win her third major title.
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