It was a battle for the ages on Bastille Day in France, with a horde of players hitting one stroke at a time, doing their best to join one of the most elite bodies in professional golf as a major champion.
And after a string of near-victory victories since becoming a member of the LPGA Tour in 2022, it was Ayaka Furue who finally found herself in the major championship spotlight, winning Japan’s only fourth major title at the 30th Anniversary Amundi Evian Championship, the first tournament in history to do so in the history of the LPGA Tour.
“I didn`t believe that I can get the major win,” said Furue, who had earned four top-10 finishes in major championships before her victory on Sunday, most recently doing so at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. “I’m so happy right now.”
Furue started the day one stroke behind Steph Kyriacou and tied for second with Lauren Coughlin at 13 under par, both of whom birdied the par-3 second hole to quickly level the score with the Australian.
Coughlin, Furue and Kiriakou then made birdies on three holes to get to 15 under, but Furue’s bogey on the fourth hole erased his performance and dropped him to 14 under, one stroke behind the leader. Coughlin made a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole to get to 16 under, Kiriakou one stroke back and Furue two strokes back. Kiriakou then made a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole to share the lead with Coughlin at 16 under, and Furue was still two strokes back at 14 under with 11 holes to go.
Furue made a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole to get back up to 15 under, but Coughlin made a birdie on the ninth hole to get to 17 under, and Furue was two strokes back again.
Coughlin, Furue and Kyriacou were doing well on the 10th and 11th holes, but all seemed lost when Furue lost a shot on the par-4 12th hole, leaving her at 14 under, three strokes behind Coughlin and two behind Kyriacou. Maybe a second LPGA Tour victory, so elusive, once again seemed out of reach for the Japanese.
But Furue wasn’t giving up without a fight.
She birdied the par-3 14th hole to get back to 15 under, two strokes off Coughlin’s pace. Furue then birdied the 15th hole to tie Kyriacou at 16 under, one stroke behind the shared lead, with Coughlin and Kyriacou both now at 17 under. Coughlin stumbled with a bogey on the 16th hole, but Kyriacou and Furue both birdied to move to 18-under and 17-under with two holes to go. Coughlin’s bogey on the 17th hole ultimately ended her chances of a major title. It was Furue and Kyriacou who had a chance to win their first major title on the final hole when Kyriacou made the same bogey on the par-4. They finished with an 8-under 63 in the final round to move into a tie for the lead with Patty Tabtanakit, who was at 17-under for the clubhouse lead.
On the par-5 18th, Kyriacou’s tee shot went wide left, the Australian sank her second shot, and Furue gave way. Furue’s tee shot easily hit the short grass. The LPGA Tour winner then decided to try for the green in two strokes, barely clearing the water and setting up an eagle attempt that ultimately gave her her only victory.
After hitting from the thick rough on the left, Kyriacou hit her third shot close to home for a birdie chance, which would have forced a playoff if Furue had not taken advantage of the eagle chance.
But Furue seized the decisive moment and confidently sank the eagle putt to reach 19 under par after 72 holes, becoming the fourth Japanese player in LPGA Tour history to win a major.
“I became a Star Wars fan like a month ago, and then I love the sentence, ‘May the force be with you,’” said Furue of her mindset coming down the stretch. “Then I believe that sentence on the 15th hole. The sentence came up in my mind, and I was just keep going on with that quote. Obviously, I had fear, and I was really nervous toward getting 18. I was getting nervous and nervous when I walk through the 17th, 18th.”
The win was Furue’s first since becoming the first Rolex winner at the 2022 Scottish Women’s Open, and she won with a 10- under par victory on Sunday. She finished with an under par 62 to claim her first tour victory. She is the second Japanese player to win a major this season, following Yuka Saso, who won the US presented by Ally. At the Women’s Open held at Lancaster Country Club, Furue became the sixth player in the history of the Amundi Evian Championship to record her first major victory in the event.
“I didn`t imagine at all because I didn’t get any major titles in Japan, JLPGA, and I didn’t really think about doing this on the LPGA,” said Furue. “I feel so honored to be the winner of a major championship, but I feel like I put every effort to win every tournament. I feel very comfortable with this win, but just take one win on the Tour was really good for me.
“I feel this tournament, this course, I feel I could win this tournament because I love this course, and I love all of here. So I feel very happy to win here.”
Kyriacou shot 67 strokes in the final round to finish alone in second place, her best result at a major.”Tavatanakit of Thailand shot 63 on Sunday, her best round of the week, to finish in a tie for third place, two strokes behind Coughlin, who finished alone in fourth place at 15 under. Hae Ran Ryu of South Korea finished in fifth place at Evian Resort Golf Club with a four-day total of 13 under.
Nelly Korda, the No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, is tied for 26th at five under, while defending champion Céline Boutier of France is tied for 39th at three under. Wake Forest University graduate Rachel Kuhn finished tied for 58th as the top amateur in her second Amundi Evian Championship.