There’s not much to say about how Grace Kim won the 2025 Evian Championship, because it truly needed to be seen to be believed.
The 24-year-old Australian came into the day one back of the leaders and playing in the penultimate group alongside Jeeno Thitikul and Somi Lee. Little was going for Kim early, with two early bogeys and amateur Lottie Woad storming up the leaderboard, the odds were stacked against her. But just as she did all day, she showed she was capable of sticking with it.
Miracle No. 1: After being +2 through six, she hit her second shot on the reachable par 5 seventh into a greenside bunker. She proceeded to step up and hole it for an eagle to get back to even par for the day and stay in contention. She went on to birdie two holes in a row on 9 and 10.
Heading into the 12th hole, Jeeno was -3 for the day and was one shot clear of Kim. Kim hit another snag as her drive was pressed against the lip of the fairway bunker. She failed to get out of the bunker on her first attempt and had an average at best layup on her second shot from the sand. She made double bogey and said in the post-round interview that she thought her chances were over at that time.
A lot can happen at Evian though, as Ayaka Furue proved going -5 on the last five holes to win in 2024. Somehow, Kim topped that feat.
While Jeeno was making easy pars despite not really getting much going with her putter on the back, Kim stormed into range. She made birdies on 15 and 16 to get to -12.
Miracle No. 2: On 17, she placed her second shot in a disastrous position on the green, setting up a near impossible two putt. She had a well placed lag that put her within eight feet for the par to stay alive. She buried the par putt, walking to 18 two strokes back of Jeeno.
Miracle No. 3: After a good tee shot, and a layup from Jeeno, Kim was going for it all from the fairway. What transpired was briefly the shot of the LPGA season as she perfectly placed the ball on the back of the green, allowing it to filter slowly back to the hole, leaving her a near-tap in for eagle. Jeeno made par, and the playoff was set.
On the first playoff hole, Jeeno hit a perfect tee shot while Kim was just in the first cut. Kim took a horrible swing that couldn’t be a further contrast from her previous shot into this green. It found the water off to the right, and Kim would be hitting her fourth shot from a difficult position to the side of the green.
Miracle No. 4: Remember earlier when her second shot on 18 in regulation was briefly the shot of the LPGA season? Somehow, someway, Grace Kim stepped up and confidently holed the chip for birdie, forcing Jeeno to make a tough up-and-down to continue the playoff. Credit to Jeeno, she made a fantastic, pressure-packed putt to send it to another extra hole.
Playing 18 for the third time in a row, Kim this time hit another superb wood into the green, setting up a putt of some length, but still makable. Jeeno hit into a similar position as she did on the previous time playing but this go around, she had to deal with a large amount of fire ants that may have impacted her shot. She hit it short but in make range if Kim were to miss her putt.
Kim didn’t miss though, burying it in the hole. For those keeping track, her final six holes were played birdie, birdie, par, eagle, birdie, eagle. That is -7 on a six-hole stretch to win a major. She made three eagles on the day, including two from off the green. She did all of this will battling some sickness. It was truly an unforgettable performance.
This was Kim’s second win on the LPGA Tour, after her win at the 2023 Lotte Championship. 2024 included some high profile collapses from Kim at the JM Eagle LA Championship and the Meijer LPGA Classic that undoubtedly made this one that much more satisfying. This is also the second major championship in a row for Australia after Minjee Lee’s win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
