The final women’s major championship of the season will be staged this week at The Evian Championship in France promising a weekend full of drama and excitement.
The final women’s major championship of the season will be staged this week with the sixth edition of The Evian Championship in Evian-les-Baines, France.
As 120 of the world’s best female golfers prepare to descend on the scenic Evian Resort Golf Club, here’s everything you need to know about the fifth and final major of the year.
Fast Facts
-This is the sixth edition of The Evian Championship since it became a major championship in 2013
-From 2000-2012, the tournament was held as a non-major event co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA, called the Evian Masters (2000-2008) and the Evian Masters presented by Societe Generale (2009-2012)
-The defending champion is Anna Nordqvist who won the 2017 event for her second career major title
-21 of the top 25 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings will compete this week
-25 different countries will be represented in the field this week, including four players from France
-The 2018 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award winner will be decided following this weekend’s results, and there are a host of players in with a chance of bagging the prestigious award: Sung Hyun Park, Ariya Jutanugarn, Pernilla Lindberg, Georgia Hall, So Yeon Ryu and Inbee Park
Who, Where, What & When
This week’s championship will feature a veritable who’s a who of professional women golfers; The field will comprise of 120 of the game’s greatest, with 21 of the top 25 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings teeing it up from 13-16 September. With a tournament purse of $3.85 million, there’s sure to be no shortage of drama at the Evian Resort Golf Club, south-eastern France, this weekend.
Could we See English Dominant World Number One Spot?
With Englishman Justin Rose rising to number one in the men’s Official World Golf Rankings, could 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion Georgia Hall make history again and claim the top for the women?
"I congratulated him [Justin] this morning,” Hall said on Tuesday at The Evian Championship. “I think it's incredible, and it was a really nice tweet he wrote as well."
"It would be amazing if England men's and women's were world No. 1. I think that would be incredible. He's a great role model to look up to in England."
After becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner and major champion in August, Hall became the first player from England to rank among the top 10 since the Rolex Rankings were implemented in 2006. Hall currently holds 8th position in the Rolex Rankings but has the top spot firmly in her sights.
Rolex Annika Major Award Set to Change
Each year, the Rolex Annika Major Award recognises the player who has had the best Major Championship record in that season. In order to be eligible to win, the player must have won a Major title, but the award also takes into account how well they have performed in every Major throughout the year, with points available for top 10 placings.
Whilst the award itself won’t change, this will be the last time since it was created in 2014 that the Rolex Annika Major Award will conclude at The Evian Championship- just a short jaunt across Lake Geneva from the Rolex World Headquarters. Next year the tournament will move to July, meaning that the Rolex Annika Major Award will conclude at the Women’s British Open.
What will really make this last celebration all the better is the fact that the award is still so open, and there are a whole host of players, including Georgia Hall, Ariya Jutanugarn and Pernilla Lindberg, who have realistic chances of winning depending on their performance this week.
Image credits: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
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