Written by Brittany Wynne
The stage is set for the fifth and final women’s Major Championship beginning this week, the Evian Championship.
This year’s tournament brings together 120 of the world’s top players.
While the tournament is the newest addition to the list of women’s Majors (named a Major Championship in 2013), its 24-year tournament history has featured some of the game’s toughest competitors.
The Evian Championship, formerly known as the Evian Masters, came into play in 1994 under the Ladies European Tour (LET). It is played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Baines, France.
After six years of play including two back-to-back victories by Hall of Fame member Dame Laura Davies in 1995-96, the Evian Masters became a co-sanctioned LET and LPGA event. Not only did this boost the exposure of the tournament, but it also raised the stakes with a bigger payout. The inaugural co-sanctioned tournament proved to be an intense battle with Annika Sorenstam capturing the victory in a playoff over fellow Hall of Fame member and then-No. 1 player in the world, Karrie Webb.
“Going head to head with the best players in the world down the stretch is what it is all about,” Sorenstam proclaimed after her 2000 Evian Masters victory.
Sorenstam went on to regain the title in 2002 with fellow Hall of Fame member Juli Inkster overtaking that title the next year, setting the record score for Evian at an astounding 21-under-par, a record that still stands today.
The tournament took an even bigger rise just five years ago when it moved from June to September, becoming the Evian Championship – the fifth Major Championship of the year. The golf world awaits who exactly will take home the Evian Trophy. Could it be Hall of Famer Laura Davies, the world’s current No. 1 player Sung Hyun Park, or defending champion Anna Nordqvist? Like any good tournament, the answer will come down to that 72nd hole.
