EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — The Amundi Evian Championship is the fourth major of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and the world’s top talent are once again ready to tackle the hilly yet beautiful Evian Resort Golf Club as they duke it out for a share of an $8 million purse. The field features nine of the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and 11 of the 12 total 2024 LPGA Tour champions, including Nelly Korda, who has captured six titles already this season, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Amy Yang and U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally champion Yuka Saso.
Take a look at just some of the featured groups at this week’s Amundi Evian Championship, using data provided by KPMG Performance Insights:
Thursday, 7:48 a.m.* – Lilia Vu/Lydia Ko/Charley Hull
Lilia Vu is making just her third start in The Amundi Evian Championship this week and will be looking to improve upon a missed cut and a T42 finish in her previous two appearances. This is the two-time major champion’s 10th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season and is just her third tournament back after Vu took a two-month hiatus to rehab a lingering back injury that forced her to withdraw from her title defense at The Chevron Championship. Vu won right out of the gate in her return to competitive golf at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, ultimately defeating Grace Kim and Lexi Thompson in a three-hole playoff at Blythefield Country Club, and she then finished in a tie for second at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, the season’s third major. In addition to those two finishes, Vu also tied for seventh early in the season at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where the 26-year-old was also defending a title. Even with the extended break, Vu is still ranked highly in several statistical categories on the LPGA Tour this year. She is currently eighth in strokes gained total (+1.57) and is 13th in strokes gained putting (+0.77), according to KPMG Performance Insights. She is also third in scoring average (70.16), 10th in putts per green in regulation (1.77), 11th in greens in regulation (71.51%) and 15th in rounds in the 60s (13).
Lydia Ko continues her Hall of Fame quest at The Amundi Evian Championship, a venue at which she’s had prior success. The New Zealand native captured her first major championship title at Evian Resort Golf Club, winning by a whopping six shots over Lexi Thompson at just 18 years, 4 months and 20 days old in 2015. Ko has earned six other top-10 results at The Amundi Evian Championship over the years, three of which were T3s or better and the most recent of which came in 2022, as Ko tied for third in her ninth start in the tournament. This is Ko’s 13th event of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and after capturing her 20th Tour victory at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, she has earned two other top-five results, including a runner-up finish at the LPGA Drive On Championship and a tie for fourth at the Blue Bay LPGA. According to KPMG Performance Insights, the 27-year-old ranks 11th in strokes gained total (+1.39) and is 14th in strokes gained around the green (+0.35) so far this season. She is also seventh in putting average (29.03), ninth in rounds under par (25) and 10th in putts per green in regulation (1.77).
Charley Hull is playing in her 11th Amundi Evian Championship this week and will continue her hunt for a major victory in France. One of her best shots at becoming a major champion at Evian Resort Golf Club came in 2022 when the Englishwoman finished in a tie for third after recording a four-day total of 15-under at the difficult venue, her career-best finish in this major championship. This is her 11th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in her 10 events prior to this week in Evian-les-Bains, Hull has earned six top-20 finishes, two of which came in major championships, as the two-time LPGA Tour winner tied for 19th at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club and tied for 16th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club. She most recently finished in a tie for fifth at the Dow Championship alongside her best friend and fellow LPGA Tour winner Georgia Hall before having to withdraw from the Aramco Team Series – London event on the Ladies European Tour last week after dealing with a shoulder injury. Now recovered, Hull is ready to tackle this latest major challenge and will do so knowing that she is statistically one of the better ball strikers on the LPGA Tour. She currently ranks third in strokes gained driving (+0.75) and is seventh in strokes gained tee to green (+1.30), according to KPMG Performance Insights, also ranking ninth in greens in regulation (71.72%) and 16th in average driving distance (270.08 yards) on Tour this season.
Thursday, 12:36 p.m. – Celine Boutier/Brooke Henderson/Minjee Lee
A year ago, it was Celine Boutier who was hoisting The Amundi Evian Championship trophy on the 18th green at Evian Resort Golf Club, victorious for the first time in a major championship. With the victory, the now 30-year-old became the first French player to win the event in its history, a title she will be looking to defend this week in her home country. It’s her eighth time teeing it up in The Amundi Evian Championship, and before last year’s win, Boutier hadn’t finished any better than T29 in the major championship, doing so in her tournament debut in 2014 and tying for 29th again in 2021. She is making her 15th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season this week, and in her 14 previous tournaments, Boutier has earned six top-20 finishes, including a runner-up showing at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and a tie for 19th result at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club. Statistically, the six-time LPGA Tour winner ranks 19th in both strokes gained around the green (+0.28) and strokes gained approach (+0.73), and also sits at 24th in strokes gained tee to green (+0.84), according to KPMG Performance Insights. Additionally, Boutier is sixth in birdies (178), sixth in subpar holes (180) and 11th in rounds in the 60s (14). Her win at The Amundi Evian Championship was one of four titles Boutier collected in 2023, and while she has yet to find the winner’s circle so far this year, this venue and major championship would be a good place for Boutier to jumpstart the latter half of her 2024 season.
Canadian Brooke Henderson won the 2022 edition of The Amundi Evian Championship, defeating Sophia Schubert by just a single stroke after making a birdie on the par-5 18th hole. While that was her first victory at the tournament, Henderson had had plenty of success at The Amundi Evian Championship in prior years, finishing in the top 25 on five separate occasions before her win and continuing that form in her title defense last year as she finished runner-up to her groupmate Boutier. This is Henderson’s 16th event of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in 15 starts this year, she has earned six top-10 results, the best and most notable of which was a tie for third that came in April at The Chevron Championship. That solid form is also showing in her statistics this season as Henderson is gaining shots in every major strokes-gained category, ranking in the top 20 in strokes gained total (+1.43), strokes gained driving (+0.54) and strokes gained tee to green (+1.10), according to KPMG Performance Insights. The 13-time LPGA Tour winner is also second in rounds under par (20), second in birdies (191), second in subpar holes (195), sixth in greens in regulation (72.12%) and seventh in scoring average (70.65).
Minjee Lee rounds out the trio of past champions in group 29. Lee won her first major title at Evian Resort Golf Club after defeating Jeongeun Lee6 in a playoff at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship. Since then, Lee has captured four other LPGA Tour titles, including the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, raising her career win total to 10, making her just the third Australian ever to reach double-digit victories on Tour, joining Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson. She returns to The Amundi Evian Championship for the 10th time this year, and in addition to her victory, she has recorded four other top-20 results at this major championship, the best of which was a tie for 11th that came in 2015. This is Lee’s 12th start of the 2024 season, and she has earned four top-15 finishes so far this year, including a tie for fourth at the Blue Bay LPGA, a tie for 15th at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, a tie for seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup and a tie for ninth at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally. The Rolex Rankings No. 11 is currently ranked first on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained approach (+1.76) and third in strokes gained tee to green (+1.58), using data provided by KPMG Performance Insights.
Thursday, 1 p.m. – Nasa Hataoka/Rose Zhang/Hannah Green
Nasa Hataoka is playing in her 16th tournament of the 2024 LPGA Tour season this week at The Amundi Evian Championship and will once again be chasing that elusive seventh career LPGA Tour victory in France. She has earned three top-10 finishes this year, tying for ninth at the LPGA Drive On Championship, tying for third at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and tying for eighth at the Dow Championship alongside her playing partner Jin Young Ko. This is her fifth time teeing it up at the Amundi Evian Championship, and outside of missing the cut in 2019, Hataoka has never finished higher than a tie for 16th in this tournament, doing so in 2018 and then tying for 15th in 2022 and tying for third in 2023 at Evian Resort Golf Club. Statistically, Hataoka is ranked inside the top 15 in two major strokes gained categories, currently sitting at 13th in strokes gained tee to green (+1.17) and 14th in strokes gained approach (+0.82), according to KPMG Performance Insights. The 25-year-old is also third in rounds under par (27) and 15th in rounds in the 60s (13).
Rose Zhang finished in a tie for ninth at last year’s Amundi Evian Championship as she made her professional debut at an event that she had played in twice before as an amateur. The two-time LPGA Tour winner recorded rounds of 69-71-71-68 at the tricky Evian Resort Golf Club in 2023 and will be looking to better that performance this week in the 30th edition of the tournament. The 21-year-old is making her 12th start of the season in Evian-les-Bains, and in addition to her two-shot victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup, Zhang has earned two other top-10 finishes, including a tie for seventh at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and a tie for fifth at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards. Statistically, the Rolex Rankings No. 8 is ranked second in strokes gained approach (+1.34), fourth in strokes gained total (+1.82) and fifth in strokes gained tee to green (+1.46) on the LPGA Tour this season, using data provided by KPMG Performance Insights. Because of her stellar performance since joining the LPGA Tour last year following her win as a non-member at the Mizuho Americas Open, Zhang recently qualified for her first Olympics in Paris, which is set to begin in just under a month’s time and will be getting another taste of French golf this week at The Amundi Evian Championship with only a few weeks left before the 2024 Games.
Hannah Green is the only other multiple-time winner on Tour this season besides Nelly Korda and is hoping to add another major to her resume this week at Evian Resort Golf Club. The Australian captured her fourth career LPGA Tour victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore this past spring and then successfully defended a title for the first time in her career at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro in April. She has played in this major championship four other times ahead of this week, missing two cuts in 2018 and 2023 and tying for 30th and 31st in 2019 and 2022, respectively. This is Green’s 12th start of the season, and along with her wins, she has earned one other top-10 result, finishing solo second to Nelly Korda at the Mizuho Americas Open. The Rolex Rankings No. 7 is currently gaining shots in all major strokes gained categories, according to KPMG Performance Insights, ranking inside the top 20 in strokes gained total (6, +1.63), strokes gained approach (13, +0.83) and strokes gained tee to green (20, +1.04). Green hasn’t won a major since the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and considering the form that she has been in this year, the Aussie just might have a chance to rectify that fact this week at The Amundi Evian Championship.
*Off No. 10
For a full list of tee times, please click here.
We've got your featured groups for @EvianChamp 🏌️♀️✨
— LPGA (@LPGA) July 10, 2024
Nelly Korda
Amy Yang
Yuka Saso
Rose Zhang
Hannah Green
Nasa Hataoka
Lilia Vu
Lydia Ko
Charley Hull
Hyo Joo Kim
Ayaka Furue
Megan Khang
Celine Boutier
Minjee Lee
Brooke Henderson
Linn Grant
Atthaya Thitikul
Angela Stanford pic.twitter.com/uPBEcop1AF
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