Koreans seek slam record at Evian Championship
Korean golfers are all out for the grand slam record at Evian Championship, the LPGA Tour’s last major event of this season.
The tour’s fifth major event will take place Thursday to Sunday at Evian Resort GC in Evian-les-Bains, France.
If Korean golfers win the tournament, they will complete the grand slam record of winning four majors of the year. Though it is an unofficial record, it proves the ongoing Korean dominance of the LPGA Tour this year. They have a combined 13 wins in 24 LPGA events this season.
Starting with Ryu So-yeon who claimed the ANA Inspiration title in April, Park Sung-hyun won the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship in July and Kim In-kyung took the Women’s British Open title last month.
Chun In-gee, the defending champion at the Evian Championship, will play the first and second round with the world No. 4 Shanshan Feng and No. 6 Ariya Jutanugarn. Last year, Chun enjoyed a wire-to-wire victory, carding 21-under for four rounds to set the 72-hole scoring record at any golf major.
For Chun, the French event will be a chance for her first win of the season. Though the world No. 5 couldn’t add a title this year after eight top-10 finishes including five runner-up spots, Chun said she puts more value in having a “happy season.”
“Scores are important in golf but it is important for me to have a happy season,” she told LPGA.com. “I see these scores as variables in solving my equation to achieve a happy season and I look forward to the rest of the season.”
Regarding the course layout, she said she will do her best in any given circumstance. “I don’t think a course layout is particularly important because all players are playing the same field and same conditions. I learned to positively accept any given conditions and this mindset worked well for me last season, enabling me to have good outcomes.”
World No. 1 Ryu and No. 3 Park are paired with No. 2 Lexi Thompson for the first two rounds. The trio had claimed two wins respectively including major victories for both Ryu and Park.
World No. 7 Kim will play her first two rounds together with No. 8 Lydia Ko and No. 10 Brooke M. Henderson while No. 12 Kim Sei-young is paired with Charley Hull and Danielle Kang who won this year’s Women’s PGA Championship in July.