EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — It was a battle for the ages on Bastille Day in France as a slew of players threw punch after punch at each other, trying their best to join one of the most elite companies in professional golf as a major champion.
And after so many close calls since becoming an LPGA Tour member in 2022, it was finally Ayaka Furue’s turn to step into the major championship limelight and claim just the fourth major title for Japan in LPGA Tour history at the 30th anniversary of The Amundi Evian Championship.
“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 began the day one shot behind Steph Kyriacou in a tie for second with Lauren Coughlin at 13-under, and both made birdie on the par-3 2nd hole to quickly level the score with the Australian.
Coughlin, Furue and Kyriacou then all birdied the third hole to move to 15-under, but Furue erased her effort with a bogey on the fourth hole to slip back to 14-under, one shot back of the lead. A Coughlin birdie on the par-4 6th hole moved her to 16-under and saw Kyriacou fall one behind and Furue fall two behind. Kyriacou then birdied the par-5 7th hole to share the lead with Coughlin at 16-under, leaving Furue still two shots back at 14-under with 11 holes to play.
Furue made up some ground with a birdie on the par-5 9th hole to get back to 15-under, but Coughlin birdied the ninth as well to climb to 17-under, once again putting Furue two shots behind.
Things were quiet for Coughlin, Furue and Kyriacou on 10 and 11, and when Furue dropped a shot on the par-4 12th hole to sit three shots back of Coughlin and two shots back of Kyriacou at 14-under, it looked like that elusive second LPGA Tour victory was once again going to be just out of reach for the Japan native.
But Furue refused to go down without a fight.
She birdied the par-3 14th hole to get back to 15-under and sit two off Coughlin’s pace, and Furue then matched birdies with Kyriacou on 15, moving to 16-under and one back of the co-lead now held by both Coughlin and Kyriacou at 17-under.
Coughlin stumbled with a bogey on 16, while Kyriacou and Furue both made birdies to get to 18-under and 17-under, respectively, with two holes to play. A Coughlin bogey on 17 ultimately spelled the end to her major championship chances, and when Kyriacou did the same on the par 4, it was Furue and Kyriacou who came to the last hole with a chance to win their first major title, sitting in a three-way tie for first with Patty Tavatanakit, who had posted the clubhouse lead at 17-under after firing an 8-under 63 in the final round.
Kyriacou’s tee shot on the par-5 18th sailed left, forcing the Aussie to lay up on her second shot and cracking the door for Furue, whose tee shot easily found the short grass. The LPGA Tour winner then elected to go for the green in two, just barely clearing the water and setting up an eagle try that would ultimately give her the outright victory.
After punching out from the thick left rough, Kyriacou knocked her third shot close to give herself a look at birdie, one that would force a playoff if Furue was unable to convert her eagle opportunity.
But Furue seized the major moment, confidently draining her eagle putt to post a 72-hole total of 19-under and become just the fourth Japanese major champion in LPGA Tour history.
“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 victory was Furue’s first since she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open, a victory that saw her shoot a 10-under 62 on Sunday to triumph for the first time on Tour. She is the second Japanese player to win a major this season, joining Yuka Saso, who captured the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Lancaster Country Club, and Furue is the sixth player in The Amundi Evian Championship’s major history to make this event their first major victory.
“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 ultimately finished solo second after her final-round 67, her career-best finish in a major championship. Thailand’s Tavatanakit matched the low round of the week on Sunday with her 63 and finished in a tie for third, two shots ahead of Coughlin, who finished alone in fourth at 15-under. Republic of Korea native Hae Ran Ryu came fifth with a four-day total of 13-under at Evian Resort Golf Club.
Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda tied for 26th at 5-under overall, while defending champion and Frenchwoman Celine Boutier finished in a tie for 39th at 3-under. Wake Forest University alum Rachel Kuehn finished as the low amateur in a tie for 58th in her second Amundi Evian Championship.
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