Evian Championship preview: Course, field, odds, tee times and more!

The Evian Championship is the fourth women's golf Major on the 2021 schedule.

We preview the fourth women's Major of the year, with the Amundi Evian Championship being played at the stunning Evian Resort Golf Club in south-eastern France.

The Evian Championship returns for 2021 as the best golfers in the women's game battle it out at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains to win the year's fourth Major.

Cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19, Jin Young Ko returns to France to defend the title she won in 2019, her second Major victory of the year and fifth LPGA win. The tournament gets underway on Thursday (July 22) with 126 players in the field.

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She shot a final round of 67 to triumph by two shots ahead of Jennifer Kupcho, Shanshan Feng and Hyo Joo Kim.

But can Jin Young Ko defend her title, will Nelly Korda win back-to-back Majors or could Charley Hull break her Major duck? Let's get into the preview...

A brief history of the Major

Formerly known as the Evian Masters, the Evian Championship was awarded Major status in 2013 and is widely regarded as one
of the most picturesque events in golf.

The Evian Resort’s par-71 course offers breathtaking views of the Alps and Lake Geneva and has proven to be one of the most eventful Major hosts in recent memory.

One of only two majors outside America, and the only one in Continental Europe, the Evian Championship has been won by huge names such as Alfredsson, Davies, Sorenstam, Inkster, Webb and Ko.

Ko's win here in 2015 saw her become the youngest women’s Major champion at the age of 18. A year later, South Korea’s In Gee Chun finished 21-under-par to record the lowest ever 72-hole score in any Major.

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Key dates for The Evian Championship

1994: The tournament is created by Antoine and Franck Riboud and named The Evian Masters, joining the first division on the Ladies European Tour. Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson wins the inaugural tournament by three shots over England’s Lora Fairclough and Australia’s Sarah Gautrey.

The venue

In 1904, the Evian mineral water company bought the farm and land belonging to the Berthet family and built a nine-hole golf course with the upcoming opening of the Hôtel Royal at the front of their minds. 

Located at an altitude of 500m, overlooking Lake Geneva, one of the first golf courses in France was an immediate success with visitors, who were enchanted by its magnificent views and vegetation which was to be immortalised by the writer Lamartine.

Set in 148 acres of wooded parkland, since then Evian Resort Golf Club has developed into a challenging course that offers the quality of a renowned championship course combined with the beauty of its exceptional setting.

The incomparable viewpoints of Lake Geneva and the Alpine summits are unforgettable – and so is the 18-hole course. A comprehensive renovation by the Cabell B Robinson – a former assistant to Robert Trent Jones – at the end of the 1980s was followed two decades later by another significant and successful upgrade by the team behind Celtic Manor.

Stretching to 6,595 yards, the Evian is a par 71 and now plays with more flow, is more spectacular and is more strategic… yet retains a strong French identity.

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The greens were made firmer, requiring well-struck shots to find and ‘hold’ them while also being enlarged to offer six pin positions. The revamp saw 77 bunkers added with more repositioned and 176 trees planted in 201. Almost every fairway now cambers treacherously towards the many water hazards, sand or club-tangling rough. 

While some players have questioned the merits of having a fifth Major in the women’s game, Sky Sports analyst Henni Koyack considers the Evian Championship to be the equivalent of the Players Championship at Sawgrass in look and feel.

The signature hole is the 5th, a par 3 whose difficulty stems from an island green and the need to negotiate a 100m long water hazard.

And the final four holes are known as ‘the Evian Puzzle’ with two risk-and-reward par 5s, as well as a par 3 guarded by cascading ponds at the front.

A fitting purse

The $4.5 million purse is the second-richest in women’s golf, after the US Women’s Open ($5.5 million). The event has traditionally been the final Major but following its cancellation last year because of Covid, this year’s tournament has been pushed forward in the calendar and takes place a month before the Women’s Open this year.

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European drought

The last Brit to win at Evian was Laura Davies, who went back-to-back in 1995 and 1996. In fact, Anna Nordqvist and Suzann Pettersen are the only Europeans to win there since 2009 as Asian players have largely dominated on the tree-lined course which typically favours accuracy off the tee, especially on the five par 3s.

Who's in the field?

It's more a case of who isn't in the 126-women field. While it is still an still incredibly strong line-upand led by World No.1 Nelly Korda, just 23 of the top 50 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking are playing, with Danielle Kang, US Women's Open champion Yuka Saso and Lexi Thompson among those missing. Britain's Mel Reid was also a late withdrawal due to a change in the Covid travel restrictions amid concerns she wouldn't be able to take her place in the Tokyo Olympics.

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Full Field: Marina Alex; Brittany Altomare; Pajaree Anannarukarn; Dottie Ardina; Aditi Ashok; Pia Babnik; Ana Belac; Carly Booth; Celine Boutier; Ashleigh Buhai; Matilda Castren; Jennifer Chang; Ssu-Chia Cheng; Chella Choi; In Gee Chun; Carlota Ciganda; Cydney Clanton; Jenny Coleman; Olivia Cowan; Paula Creamer; Perrine Delacour; Lindy Duncan; Austin Ernst; Jodi Ewart Shadoff; Ally Ewing; Maria Fassi; Dana Finkelstein; Ayaka Furue; Kristen Gillman; Jaye Marie Green: Natalie Gulbis; Georgia Hall; Mina Harigae; Leonie Harm; Muni He; Brooke Henderson; Esther Henseleit; Celine Herbin; Alice Hewson; Daniela Holmqvist; Wei-Ling Hsu; Charley Hull; Mi Jung Hur; Eun Hee Ji; Ariya Jutanugarn; Moriya Jutanugarn; Tsubasa Kajitani (a); Haeji Kang; Sarah Kemp; Megan Khang; A Lim Kim; Christina Kim; Hyo Joo Kim; Sei Young Kim; Katherine Kirk; Cheyenne Knight; Jin Young Ko; Lydia Ko; Jessica Korda; Nelly Korda; Aline Krauter (a); Jennifer Kupcho; Stephanie Kyriacou; Brittany Lang; Nicole Broch Larsen; Bronte Law; Alison Lee; Jeongeun Lee; Mi Hyang Lee; Min Lee; Minjee Lee; Mirim Lee; Jeongeun Lee6; Brittany Lincicome; Pernilla Lindberg; Yu Liu; Nanna Koerstz Madsen; Leona Maguire; Lucie Malchirand; Caroline Masson; Brooke Matthews (a); Stephanie Meadow; Wichanee Meechai; Morgane Metraux; Giulia Molinaro; Azahara Munoz; Yealimi Noh; Anna Nordqvist; Sanna Nuutinen; Ryann O'Toole; Su Oh; Amy Olson; Lee-Anne Pace; Hee Young Park; Inbee Park; Sung Hyun Park; Emily Kristine Pedersen; Pornanong Phatlum; Gerina Piller; Sophia Popov; Paula Reto; Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (a); So Yeon Ryu; Madelene Sagstrom; Lizette Salas; Sarah Schmelzel; Alena Sharp; Jenny Shin; Jennifer Song; Natalie Srinivasan; Angela Stanford; Marissa Steen; Lauren Stephenson; Jasmine Suwannapura; Elizabeth Szokol; Emma Talley; Patty Tavatanakit; Atthaya Thitikul; Albane Valenzuela; Anne van Dam; Lindsey Weaver; Christine Wolf; Jing Yan; Amy Yang; Angel Yin; Rose Zhang (a).

Top 50 players: 1. Nelly Korda; 2. Jin Young Ko; 3. Inbee Park; 4. Sei Young Kim; 5. Hyo-Joo Kim; 7. Brooke Henderson; 10. Lydia Ko; 12. Patty Tavatanakit; 13. Jessica Korda; 15. Minjee Lee; 16. Ally Ewing; 18. So Yeon Ryu; 21. Austin Ernst; 22. Ariya Jutanugarn; 23. Lizette Salas; 24. Sophia Popov; 25. Jennifer Kupcho; 26. Jeongeun Lee6; 29. Ayaka Furue; 30. Amy Olson; 32. Carlota Ciganda; 33. Megan Khang; 34. Moriya Jutanugarn; 35. Sung Hyun Park; 36. Amy Yang; 37. Melissa Reid; 38. Charley Hull; 40. Mirim Lee; 41. Mi Jung Hur; 43. A Lim Kim; 47. Brittany Altomare; 49. In Gee Chun.

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Who will win the Evian Championship?

World No.1 Nelly Korda is the 9/1 favourite to win in France and add a second Major to the KPMG PGA Championship she lifted last month.

Jin Young Ko is 11/1 to defend her crown, with Hyo Joo Kim fancied at 14/1. England's Charley Hull is a 50/1 shot.

Top picks: 9/1 - Nelly Korda; 11/1 - Jin Young Ko; 14/1 Hyo Joo Kim; 16/1 Inbee Park, Sei Young Kim; 18-1 Ariya Jutanugarn; 22/1 Patty Tavatanakit; 28/1 Lydia Ko, So Yeon Ryu; 30/1 Matilda Castren, Brooke Henderson; 35/1 Atthaya Thitkul, Jessica Korda, Jeongeun Lee6; 40/1 Minjee Lee; 45/1 Amy Yang, in Gee Chun, Moriya Jutunugarn, Leona Maguire; 50/1 Celine Boutier, Charley Hull; 55/1 Megan Khang, Georgia Hall, Ally Ewing, Esther Henseleit.

Selected others: 60/1 Lizette Salas; 66/1 Anna Nordqvist; 150/1 Sophia Popov; 175/1 Brittany Lincicome, Jodi Ewart Shadoff; 500/1 Carly Booth; 750/1 Paula Creamer; 3000/1 Natalie Gulbis.

Odds correct as of 12.30pm on Tuesday, July 20. 

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Evian Championship: Round 1 Tee times and groups

Evian Championship: Round 2 Tee times and groups

How to watch the Evian Championship

Sky Sports Golf has live coverage from France.

Thursday, July 22: First Round Live, Sky Sports Golf, 11am

Friday, July 23: Second Round Live, Sky Sports Golf, 11am

Saturday, July 24: Third Round Live, Sky Sports Golf, 11am

Sunday, July 25: Final Round Live, Sky Sports Golf, 11am

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