Evian Championship report: Jin Young Ko claims second major

Jin Young Ko won her second major of season with a two-shot victory over Jennifer Kupcho, Hyo Joo Kim and Shanshan Feng. Joe Hughes wraps up the action

Evian Championship report: So what happened?

At a drenched Evian Resort, Jin Young Ko claimed her second major title of the season in a dramatic final round.

The Korean battled through tough conditions to record just one bogey and five birdies on her way to a winning score of 15-under par.

She remained firmly in the rear-view mirror of 54-hole leader Hyo Joo Kim, who held top spot until the 14th hole, when a plugged lie in a bunker led to a triple-bogey.

An absolute nightmare scenario ????

Watch the mishap that cost H.J. Kim the @EvianChamp lead: https://t.co/c7h5tD8jsc pic.twitter.com/Rs80kqD1he

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 28, 2019

A par from Ko saw her take a two-shot cushion that she didn’t relinquish.

A birdie at 17 all but sealed the deal and a second major title, having won the ANA Inspiration earlier this year.

CLUTCH. ????

Jin Young Ko takes a two-stroke lead into the 18th hole at the @EvianChamp!

Watch the conclusion on @CNBC now! pic.twitter.com/FzO7PHKCvd

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 28, 2019

One of the stories of the week came from Jennifer Kupcho, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April before turning professional.

Competing in her first Evian Championship as an LPGA player, she showed just how strong her game is on the way to a tied 2nd finish.

Another ???? for @jenniferkupcho!

She's at 12-under and T2 heading into the 18th hole, just two strokes off the lead!

Watch now on @CNBC! pic.twitter.com/4DlHIic982

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 28, 2019

Her final-round 66 meant that she held the clubhouse lead at 13-under par and it looks as if this finish will see her secure her LPGA card for 2020.

Classy stuff from @JenniferKupcho taking the time to thank the volunteers and give each a signed ball at the @EvianChamp. pic.twitter.com/3b3SNlW9Tq

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 28, 2019

WITB: The clubs Ko used to win
Leaderboard: Final standings (external site)

Evian Championship report: Talking points

It wasn’t to be for Lexi Thompson this week as she missed the cut by two shots, cutting short her week at this major for the second consecutive year.

Only five fairways were found throughout her entire first round and she recorded 37 putts on her way to an opening 77.

However, while the poor showing from the World No. 3 may well be a talking point in itself, it was her Instagram posts following the second round that really had people talking.

Having had her week ended at the halfway stage the American took to the social media platform with a lengthy post accompanied by a photo of a part of the course which looked less than perfect.

This week the LPGA appears to be answering the age old question: What if professional golfers played a major at course that was set up like my broke-as-hell-daily-fee municipal goat track? (From Lexi Thompson’s Instagram at the Evian Championship.) ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/FQzZcthCzh

— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) July 26, 2019

In the message, she acknowledged that her play simply wasn’t up to scratch but did seem to point a finger at the condition of the course at Evian Resort.

The 24-year-old wrote of how she found the fairway with three or four drives but ended up with poor lies, as she shows in her photo.

She may well have been acting on raw emotion but she said she was “thankful” that she wouldn’t have to play the course for the final two days, which didn’t go down well with everybody.

There was some criticism of her post and even fellow tour pro Anne van Dam was of the opinion that players shouldn’t be blaming the course.

Couldn’t agree more! https://t.co/NYeXDYwtzs

— Anne van Dam (@Annevandam) July 28, 2019

Thompson’s original post was edited and she replaced it with an explanation of sorts.

View this post on Instagram

Hi everyone, I want to clear up any confusion from my earlier post. My words were only directed at my frustration of not playing well in a Major and at the unfortunate bounces we all get while playing this crazy game called golf. ????I didn't mean it in a mean way at all. Obviously just hasn't been the course for me the last few years, but some girls are playing great and I wish them the best of luck this weekend! I am truly so thankful for the amazing support of Evain & Rolex and all of the sponsors associated with this event and giving us the opportunity to come here. I also would like to thank all of the volunteers and fans that make this tournament possible!. Evian is a beautiful place and I always enjoy spending time in this part of the world, it just wasn't meant to be and hey that happens !????????‍♀️ I will be out at the course this weekend working on my game, so please come out and support the event and say hello! #Evian #Rolex @evianchamp

A post shared by Lexi Thompson (@lexi) on
Jul 26, 2019 at 12:22pm PDT

Lexi suggests that her original post was purely borne out of frustration at her own game rather than the course, but you can make your own mind up.

Unfortunately there was further talk around slow play this week as many rounds took longer than they really should have.

America’s Stacy Lewis aired her views on Twitter following Friday’s second round and pointed out that the 5 hours and 50 minutes it took her group to complete 18 holes was simply too long.

I will never understand 5 hours and 50 minutes to play a round of golf! It’s not fun for us as players, can’t be fun to watch!

— Stacy Lewis (@Stacy_Lewis) July 26, 2019

There have been plenty of suggestions offered by players, spectators, pundits and seemingly everybody else involved with golf about how we can work to eliminate slow play, but at least for the moment, it seems this pace is here to stay.

Sunday’s final round was delayed by two hours due to heavy rain, and this resulted in the second day of the lift, clean and place rule being in play.

While this seems a fair decision for the players, it did lead to some more slow play, with the leaders playing the course in almost five and a half hours.