The Amundi Evian Championship provides some of the most breathtaking views on the LPGA Tour’s schedule. Set alongside Lac Léman, Evian Resort Golf Club will provide an incredible backdrop to crown the fourth major champion of the 2024 season. This spectacular hillside setting looks pretty but watching the world’s best athletes hit a golf ball on the side of a mountain for 18 holes is what makes The Amundi Evian Championship so entertaining.
A quick look at the odds board for this annual championship summarizes the major season we have already witnessed. Dominance by Nelly Korda in the spring helped her win The Chevron Championship, but since then, she has failed to make the cut in a major championship. Korda is still our odds-on favorite, even though the field has closed in on her early season lead. The three at the top of the board have all won this year, with Atthaya Thitikul being the most recent, having won the Dow Championship just two weeks ago alongside Ruoning Yin. Not to be outdone, Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2 Lilia Vu returned from an early-season injury and won the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give last month.
Are these two and others ready to take down top-ranked Korda?
In order to do so, they will have to solve the puzzle that is this venue in Évian-les-Bains, France. Evian Resort Golf Club will play to a par 71 and has a scorecard measuring 6,527 yards. There are five par 3s, four par 5s and nine par 4s.
Because it’s not your standard allotment, par-3 play and approach shots lead the list of skills needed to succeed. Hannah Green, Sei Young Kim, Ally Ewing and Minjee Lee lead the LPGA in par-3 scoring, and with an extra par 3 per round, these athletes will likely have an edge on the field over four days. Lee, who won The Amundi Evian Championship in 2021, leads the LPGA in strokes gained approach. With nearly 30% of the holes on the card being a par 3, make sure you pick those who can play these one-shot tests well.
Evian Resort Golf Club has a varied collection of par 4s, stretching from 331 to 437 yards in length and running uphill, downhill and alongside the mountain. Players are tested tee to green in many ways. Past champions have been very accurate en route to victory, and over the past two years, the strokes-gained data for the top-10 finishers tells us those who contended gained an average of seven shots on the field with their tee-to-green talents.
Coming into The Amundi Evian Championship, Megan Khang leads the LPGA Tour in strokes gained tee to green. She missed the cut at Sahalee Country Club but still sits ahead of Korda with Lee, Haeran Ryu and Rose Zhang also in that top five.
Ryu had a solid top 10 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, while Zhang and Lee only finished inside the top 40. Recent form should set the elite apart, as Sahalee was a difficult test. Those who contended three weeks ago should be on the radar because players tend to go on runs. Following her Evian win a year ago, Celine Boutier backed up this championship with another title the very next week at the Women’s Scottish Open.
If sidehill lies bother you, then these putting surfaces will drive you mad. The tilts and slopes of these greens separate the proficient putters from the novices. Vu is the best putter of the betting favorites and is followed closely by 2019 Amundi Evian champion Jin Young Ko, Hyo Joo Kim and Ayaka Furue. Furue has been consistent all season, unlike the 2014 Evian winner Kim. Kim was the favorite a year ago, but her iron game has struggled in 2024, so solid putting will not be enough for this past champion to contend.
When you write down your final list of possible winners, make sure they can check off these boxes and a couple more. Sloping fairways become tougher to hit, much like elevated greens. With the exception of last year’s champion Boutier, nine of the last 10 Evian winners are all multiple major winners. Much like the water, the best seem to find their level alongside Lac Léman.
Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA TOUR for Golf Digest, SportsGrid, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA TOUR. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information about the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.
)
)
)
)
