EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — It was a storybook ending against a fairytale backdrop for Grace Kim on Sunday at The Amundi Evian Championship, a victory that felt scripted by the golf gods.

Playing in the penultimate group alongside Somi Lee and Jeeno Thitikul, and after Thitikul and amateur Lottie Woad were trading blows as the year’s fourth major began to wind down, Kim came to the final hole at Evian Resort Golf Club needing something magic. She was sitting at 12-under after picking up a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16 and parring 17, and Kim needed an eagle to have a shot at a playoff with Thitikul.

But she nearly did one better than that, finding the fairway off the tee and then smoking a 4-hybrid to a mere foot, nearly holing it for an albatross and then tapping in for an eagle to match Thitikul, who parred the last to also post a final-round 67 and finish at 14-under, sending the pair to a playoff at The Amundi Evian Championship.

The first extra hole saw Kim go for the green in two and spray her second shot, an approach that found the water feature well to the right of the 18th green. Thitikul also played aggressively and hit her second shot a bit long, leaving herself a solid opportunity to get up and down for birdie and ultimately win her first major title, seemingly tipping the scales in her favor quite a bit.

However, few could predict what would happen next.

Kim took a drop from the penalty area, and upon playing her fourth, the Aussie pitched in for the most unlikely of birdies, a shot that elicited a raucous roar from the fans surrounding the 18th green at Evian Resort Golf Club. After things quieted down, Thitikul then chipped up and buried her resulting 10-foot birdie try with ice in her veins, sending the two back to the 18th tee for a second playoff hole.

This time, after backing off her approach because of a distraction, Kim executed the second shot she was trying to hit on the first playoff hole, hitting it to roughly 20 feet for eagle. Thitikul’s second shot again went just a hair long, leaving herself a bit of an odd stance on the slope of the greenside bunker. Her third shot was made even more difficult by some ants that were swarming her ball, insects from which she wasn’t able to take free relief, but Thitikul still managed to chip it to roughly six feet and leave herself a birdie opportunity to keep the playoff going.

Because Thitikul had to ask for a ruling, Kim had to wait a bit before putting, something that could have let the nerves start to rear their ugly heads in both her mind and her gut. But Kim and her caddie, Drew Ernst, calmly read her eagle putt and Kim struck it confidently, bringing her hand to her mouth in disbelief when her ball fell right in the heart of the cup to make the 24-year-old a first-time major winner.

“I couldn't breathe, Tom,” said Kim to NBC Golf’s Tom Abbott. “I couldn't really see. I was like, ‘Is it dead straight? Yeah. I'm hitting the putt.’ Glad it went in the hole.”

The victory is Kim’s first LPGA Tour title since she became a Rolex First-Time Winner in 2023 at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei in Hawaii after defeating Yu Liu and Yu-Jin Sung in a one-hole playoff. The 2022 Epson Tour graduate is the second consecutive Australian to win a major this season, as her fellow countrywoman Minjee Lee captured her third career major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last month.

Kim also joins 2021 champion Lee as just the second Australian winner of The Amundi Evian Championship since it became a major tournament in 2013, and sits alongside Lee, Wendy Doolan, Rachel Hetherington and Karrie Webb as the fifth Aussie winner of this tournament in any of its iterations. Kim is now the fifth different Aussie to capture a major championship title, alongside Lee, Webb, Hannah Green and Jan Stephenson, and Kim and Lee’s wins mark the first time that at least one Australian has won two majors in the same season since Webb collected two major victories in 2001.

Getting to add her name to the likes of those strong champions means an immense amount to the young Kim, but it’s Webb’s that is particularly special because of Kim’s connections to the seven-time major champion’s junior scholarship program.

“This is unbelievable. Didn't really know I was going to be sitting here this soon,’ said Kim in her winning press conference. “There is a picture of Karrie as you walk into the locker room, walking down 18 as well, so seeing that each day is motivating. Obviously, Minjee's first major was this one, and this is now mine as well. Oh, that's definitely different. I'll get used to it. I'm not sure when it'll sink in for sure, but this is incredible.”

Thitikul finished alone in second, and while this one certainly stings for the current Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2, the runner-up showing is still the 22-year-old’s career-best result in a major championship and is her second consecutive top five in a major this year, as Thitikul tied for fourth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East.

“I think I'm so proud of myself on battling out there today,” Thitikul said. “I know it's going to be a tough day. It's going to be a long day, but I just want to say I'm so proud of myself and what I did out there.”

Amateur Lottie Woad finished in a tie for third alongside KPMG Women’s PGA champion Minjee Lee, securing the 20th point she needed to qualify for LPGA Tour membership via the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway. The 21-year-old, who is a rising senior at Florida State University, is the first athlete to earn status via the new program.

“It's really cool. It's always nice to be the first to do something, so just grateful that I had the opportunity to do it,” Woad said. “Relieved now. It was kind of wearing on me for a bit.”

Rounding out the top five in a tie for fifth are former U.S. Solheim Cup Team members Andrea Lee and Angel Yin, the latter of whom played the final four holes in 5-under to post a closing 63 and a four-day total of 12-under.

Defending champion Ayaka Furue tied for 59th, while world No. 1 Nelly Korda finished in a tie for 43rd. Kim is the 19th different winner this season, extending what’s already a new record of different champions of the LPGA Tour.

In Good Graces: Australia’s Kim Becomes First-Time Major Winner at The Amundi Evian Championship

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