Anna Nordqvist became the first European player to win a women’s major championship since 2013, after the Swede won a play-off against Brittany Altomare to win the Evian Championship in France.
With matching final rounds of 66, Nordqvist and Altomare came from five strokes behind the overnight leader Moriya Jutanugarn to tie for the lead on nine under par, but it was Nordqvist who triumphed on the par-four 18th. Altomare made a double-bogey, only moments after greens staff had been using squeegees to clear water from the flooded green.
The tournament was reduced to 54 holes, after rain had washed out the first day’s play, and it threatened to halt the final day’s action too, when hailstones lashed the course during the playoff.
Nordqvist said afterwards that the conditions were the toughest she had ever seen. “I did grow up in Sweden, but I’ve been in the US for 10 years now, so I really struggle with the cold, and I couldn’t feel my hands on the last few shots in the playoff.”
Just 10 weeks ago, Nordqvist was put on bed-rest for a fortnight, having been diagnosed with mononucleosis during the US Women’s Open. She returned to tie for seventh at the Women’s British Open, and was the leading points’ scorer for Europe at the Solheim Cup.
“The last couple of weeks have been frustrating and disappointing,” said Nordqvist. “I was very excited to tee it up in the Solheim Cup, but I was absolutely exhausted afterwards. I came back last week, and missed the cut, so it has just been very testing, but I couldn’t be more proud,” she said.
The 30 year old from Eskilstuna became the first European woman to win a Major since Suzann Pettersen, who won the Evian Championship in its inaugural year in 2013. It was Nordqvist’s second victory of the season, following the Bank of Hope Founders Cup.
This was her eighth career victory in total and her second Major following the 2009 McDonald’s LPGA Championship. With first prize winnings of €460,343, she has now earned more than $8 million in her 10-year career.
In finishing second, Altomare almost doubled her career earnings, with her only previous career top-10 finish being a tie for third in the Cambia Portland Classic two weeks ago.
Ko, Jutanugarn and Kirk tied for third on eight under, while Sei Young Kim and Shanshan Feng tied for sixth and Jennifer Song and Mi Hyang Lee tied for eighth place. England’s Georgia Hall tied for 10th with In-Kyung Kim and Ayako Uehara, for her second straight top-10 in a major.
After signing for a one-over-par 72, Hall said: “I played well today. I just couldn’t get a lot going. There were some tricky pins out there, as well. I’m very happy with the week. It was my first time at the Evian, so it was a good result.”
With the final Major of the year over, So Yeon Ryu won the Rolex Annika Major Award for the best overall performance across the five Majors in 2017.