Evian Championship: Kim Hyo-Joo beats Karrie Webb to major
Last updated on .From the section Golf
| Evian Championship final round leaderboard |
|---|
| -11 Kim HJ (Kor) -10 K Webb (Aus) -9 Jang HN (Kor), Hur MJ (Kor) -8 NY Choi (Kor) -7 S Pettersen (Nor) -6 P Creamer (US) -4 L Ko (NZ), B Lincicome (US) Selected others: -2 I Park (Kor), A Nordqvist (Swe) Level J Ewart Shadoff (Eng) +6 L Davies (Eng) +7 C Hull (Eng) |
Korea's Kim Hyo-Joo saw off Karrie Webb to win the Evian Championship and become the third youngest major champion on the LPGA Tour.
Webb, 39, a seven-time major winner, held a one-shot lead going into the final hole in France.
But the 19-year-old held her nerve on the 18th green to sink a birdie putt, which put the pressure back on Webb.
The Australian had a putt to save par and force a play-off, but narrowly missed as Kim triumphed by one stroke.
Kim led after the first and third rounds, taking a one-shot lead over Webb into the final day.
| Youngest women's major winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Major | Age | |
| Morgan Pressel (US) | 2007 | Kraft Nabisco Championship | 18 years 313 days |
| Lexi Thompson (US) | 2014 | Kraft Nabisco Championship | 19 years 55 days |
| Kim Hyo-Joo (Kor) | 2014 | Evian Championship | 19 years 62 days |
Webb drew level with a birdie at the first, but then slipped back with a double bogey at the par-five second, which Kim birdied to open up a three-shot lead over her rival.
Both players picked up three shots mid-round, only for Kim to bogey the 14th and 16th as Webb birdied the 14th and 15th to take a slim lead into the final hole.
Kim's compatriots, Jang Ha Na, Hur Mi Jung and Na Yeon Choi, rounded out what would have been an all-Korean top five if not for Webb.
"I don't know what hit me - probably a rush of adrenaline - and it was a poor putt knowing I had to make it," said Webb.
"I swung it really well today, and I hit every green from the second hole until the end."
| Webb's major success |
|---|
| Karrie Webb narrowly missed the opportunity to become the first woman to win six different majors. |
| She has previously won the US Women's Open (2000 & 2001), Kraft Nabisco Championship (2000 & 2006), LPGA Championship (2001) and the du Maurier Classic (1999) which was replaced as a major in 2000 by the Women's British Open, which Webb won in 2002. |
| The Evian Championship became the LPGA's fifth major in 2013. Webb won its previous incarnation, the Evian Masters, in 2006 |
Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who played in last year's Solheim Cup win for Europe, was the highest-placed Briton, tied for 20th on level par after carding a 66 which included six birdies on the first 11 holes.
Fellow Englishwoman Charley Hull, who began round four on one over par, endured a nightmare round of 77 featuring five bogeys, including three on the first four holes, a triple bogey at the 12th and a double bogey at the last.
