English amateur Lottie Woad threatened major history before Grace Kim defeated Jeeno Thitikul in a dramatic play-off to win the Evian Championship.
Woad went into the final round five strokes off the pace but charged into contention by firing five birdies in a front-nine 30, with the world amateur No 1 briefly jumping into the outright lead after a birdie at the 13th took her to seven under for the round.
The 21-year-old cancelled out a three-putt bogey at the 14th with a birdie at the next and finished with three straight pars to post a seven-under 64 and – with six groups still to finish – set the clubhouse target at 13 under.
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Watch the best from Lottie Woad’s final round as the amateur star fights for top spot at the Amundi Evian Championship in France
Woad ended a shot back in tied-third, as Kim made a tap-in eagle – after a stunning approach into the last – to force a play-off when Thitikul missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole for victory.
Kim found the water with her approach into the first extra hole but holed out for a sensational birdie to pile pressure on Thitikul, who got up and down to match the score and extend the contest, then holed a long-range eagle on the second extra hole to claim a maiden major title.
How Woad threatened major history
Woad came into the final round requiring a top-25 finish to secure her LPGA Tour card, although thoughts quicky accelerated to bigger prizes when she birdied three of her opening four holes on Sunday morning.
She took advantage of the par-five seventh and added another at the par-four ninth, taking her to 11 under, before holing from eight feet at the 11th and registering a seventh birdie of the day at the par-four 13th.
Woad won her maiden Ladies European Tour title at the KPMG Irish Women’s Open in her previous start
Woad’s par-save attempt lipped-out at the par-three next to see her fall one behind Thitikul, who followed a front-nine 33 by birdieing the 11th, only to edge back alongside the Thai player after a stunning wedge shot set up a six-foot birdie at the 15th.
Missed birdie chances over the final two holes kept Woad at 13 under, as Thitikul failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker at the 15th but moved into the solo lead with a birdie at the 17th.
Kim – who started her final round with two bogeys in three holes – had double-bogeyed the 12th and was three behind with four holes to play, only to follow back-to-back birdies from the 15th with a stunning eagle at the last to join Thitikul on 14 under.
Minjee Lee also made a final-hole eagle to finish tied-third alongside Woad, while a round-of-the-day 63 lifted Angel Yin into a share of fifth place alongside fellow American Andrea Lee.
Ariya Jutanugarn was in contention after four consecutive birdies around the turn but ended three strokes back in tied-seventh alongside Ireland’s Leona Maguire, while overnight co-leader Cara Gainer ended the week in tied-14th after a final-round 74.
Woad proud of ‘fun’ week and LPGA Tour chance
Lottie Woad: “It was really fun. I knew starting the day I was only like five off, so I needed to have a quick start and I did. Then it was really just really fun after that.
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Lottie Woad says she’ll take time before deciding to turn pro after her tied-third finish at the Evian Championship
“I’m just going to take the next week and discuss [LPGA Tour membership] with my family and coaches and then I’ll make a decision after that. Always been my dream to play on the LPGA, so yeah, really looking forward to it.”
Leona Maguire: “I played some really good golf this week. Really happy with how I played. Probably the best golf I’ve played in quite a while. I knew my game was sort of trending nicely coming into this week.
Leona Maguire was tied for the lead after the opening day, having made a hole-in-one during her opening-round 65
“My approach shot is something I’ve been working quite a bit on, and they were really, really good this week. Yeah, lots of positives to take out of the week.”
Grace Kim: “I started the week saying worrying is just really doubting my preparation, my work, the work that my team put in.
“I really just tried to back myself all four rounds. I don’t think I’ve shot as well as I have this week ever, so that mentality works. I’m going to keep going forward with that.”
What’s next?
The next event on both the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour schedule is the ISPS Handa Scottish Open, taking place at Dundonald Links from July 24-27 and live on Sky Sports.
The women’s major season then concludes at the AIG Women’s Open from July 31-August 3, with Lydia Ko returning as defending champion at Royal Porthcawl. Stream the majors and more with no contract.
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