The Amundi Evian Championship got under way in Evian-les-Bains on Thursday, and for once the fourth women’s major of the season needs no manufactured storyline. Nelly Korda arrives at the Evian Resort Golf Club as world No. 1, a two-time major winner already this year, and one victory away from the LPGA career grand slam.
Korda is out in Thursday’s morning wave alongside Haeran Ryu and Lottie Woad, part of a 132-player field. The American has won the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open this season, taking her career major tally to four, and a win this week — or at the AIG Women’s Open later this month — would complete the LPGA career grand slam.
What would an Evian win mean for Nelly Korda?
More than a fifth major title. Victory in France would also seal Korda’s place in the LPGA’s points-based Hall of Fame, and according to Golfweek, the last American to complete the career grand slam and reach the Hall of Fame was Juli Inkster in 1999.
“I think I just try to spin it, of yeah, some people may think it’s a lot of pressure,” Korda told reporters this week, per Golfweek, “but I think I’m just really proud of myself for even putting myself into that position and it being talked about.”
Why has Evian been Korda’s toughest major?
For all her dominance — Golfweek reports a 68.51 scoring average this season, roughly a full shot clear of her nearest challenger — Korda has managed only two top-10 finishes in eight previous Evian appearances. The course above Lake Geneva punishes impatience, good shots are not always rewarded, and with temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit forecast this week, the examination will be as much mental as technical.
“Every year I learn something new about this place,” Korda said this week, in comments carried by Golfweek.
Who can stop Korda in France?
Her own group supplies two credible threats. Ryu arrives as the season’s most recent major champion after storming back from 10 shots adrift following round one of the KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine. Woad, now up to fourth in the world, missed the Evian playoff by a single shot as an amateur 12 months ago and has won twice on tour since.
World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, still waiting for a first major title, plays with Lydia Ko and Charley Hull, whose run of major near-misses makes weeks like this feel overdue. Defending champion Grace Kim, meanwhile, returns to the scene of the playoff chip-in and closing eagle that beat Thitikul last year — a moment now commemorated with a plaque beside the 18th green.
Verdict
Korda has finished no worse than eighth in nine stroke-play starts this season — form she has carried right through the LPGA’s summer stretch. The one real doubt is the venue, because two top-10s in eight visits offers little precedent. Current form should trump history here: expect the grand slam bid to be alive deep into Sunday, and if her putter holds up over the weekend, Korda wins her third major of the year. The top 65 and ties make the cut, and Friday night’s leaderboard should tell us whether France is finally ready to fit.
