Johanna Gustafsson and Isabelle Boineau with the Evian Championship trophy Credit: Matthieu Joffres
The 24th edition of the Evian Championship is scheduled to be held between the 14-17 of September at the Evian Resort Golf Club. The tournament which was formally known as the Evian Masters, now brings with it a $3.5 million purse, an increase of $100,000 from last year’s edition, won by Chun In-Gee.
Past champions at the Evian Championship include five-time and seven-time LET winners Lydia Ko and Suzann Pettersen. Now joining them at the tournament, will be Isabelle Boineau and Johanna Gustavsson.
Last week at the Jabra Ladies Open, Boineau and Gustavsson finished with identical 54-hole scores of seven under par (206) before heading into a playoff. Boineau may have won the tournament with a birdie on the first hole of sudden death, but both were guaranteed spots in the fifth major of year.
Fresh off her playoff win, the Frenchwoman Boineau spoke about getting the best of both worlds.
“I had already qualified for Evian, so I was a bit reassured when I went in the play-off against Joanna – but then I wanted to win. Last year on the LET, I won my first tournament in Scotland (Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open) so I wanted to win a second event as a professional. I’m really happy and looking forward to playing the Evian Championship for the second time.”
Last year Boineau shot 72, 71, 71, 73 to finish T48 at the Evian Championship.
“I played the qualifier two years ago and last year I played in the Jabra (Ladies Open) in tough conditions and then in the Evian Championship in tough conditions so I have to say the conditions were perfect this week. It was much easier but I knew what to expect and know where to hit the ball to be in a quite safe place. So, I think that’s what helped me this week as well.”
A second-place finish was the icing on the cake for the Swede Gustavsson, who wasn’t having the best of mid-season runs with two back-to-back missed cuts.
“One of my goals at the beginning of the season was to qualify for a major. Didn’t really expect to do it this week because I haven’t been playing very well in the last few weeks, but my game came together.”
The 24-year old also credited her boyfriend, Alex Wrigley, who was caddying for her. Wrigley is an accomplished golfer himself, playing regularly on the Europro Tour.
“He’s been caddying for me for a while now, and we’re learning the best way to go about things. It was definitely a big help, I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without him.”
