On an incredible final day at the Amundi Evian Championship, Japan’s Ayaka Furue eagled the 72nd hole to secure her first major title.
The 24-year-old had a slow start to the final round at the Evian Resort, but a perfect approach to the 18th green set her up with an eagle chance.
A final round 63 had seen Patty Tavatanakit set the clubhouse lead at 17-under-par, but Furue sank the eagle putt to reach 19-under, and to secure the fourth women’s major of the year.
Speaking in her native Japanese, and with her translator by her side at the trophy ceremony, Furue said: “Breathtaking, incredible, I am speechless!”
Furue was the leader at the halfway stage after back-to-back 66s. She went 46 holes without recording a bogey, but then struggled through the back nine of her third round, with fatigue coming into play.
A slow start on Sunday saw her drop a couple of shots off the lead, but birdies on 14, 15 and 16, followed by that incredible eagle on the last, saw her take the victory.
“I just kept trusting myself, made birdie on 14 and 15 and was able to keep going!” Furue continued in her post-round interview.
“It was a little difficult to find the green, but I made that shot and had the eagle putt! That was really good for me!”
Stephanie Kyriacou made birdie on the last hole to finish at 18-under, and in solo 2nd. Meanwhile, Lauren Coughlin, who had led for most of the final round, made back-to-back bogeys at the worst possible time. She did so on 16 and 17 to drop away, and could only par the last, finishing in 4th spot.
It was Furue’s day, though, as she became the second major winner from Japan in 2024, following in the footsteps of US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso.
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How did it all go down?
In the last hour, everything changed at the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship. From a three-horse race, into a four-horse race, and then back to three as the final group went down 18.
Here is the timeline of the important moments from that last hour…
2:37pm – Furue makes long-range birdie on 14 to move to -15 (Coughlin/Kyriacou -16)
The Japanese star was two shots back at this point, but this was where the run started. A lengthy birdie putt on the par 3 14th saw her move back to 1-5, a shot behind Coughlin and Kyriacou.
2:56pm – Furue makes long-range birdie on 15 to move to -15 (Kyriacou -17)
She went back-to-back with another lengthy birdie putt on the 15th. That moved her to -16, where she remained a shot behind Kyriacou – who had also birdied 15.
3:10pm – Furue makes birdie on 16 to move to -17
She continued that run thanks to a lovely approach on the par 3 16th. It was one that used the contours of the green magnificently to roll down to five feet. She sank the put for her third straight birdie.
3:11pm – Kyriacou makes birdie on 16 to move to -18
After seeing Furue knock it to five feet, Kyriacou went straight at the flag, the more dangerous route. It was a worthy shot, though, and she would also make birdie to move to -18 and maintain her one shot lead.
3:14pm – Tavatanakit makes eagle on 18 to post a final round of 63 and set the clubhouse lead at -17
Coming from nowhere on the final day, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit made eagle on the 18th to card a final round of 63, the lowest of the week. That set the clubhouse lead at -17.
3:24pm – Kyriacou flubs chip on 17, drops to -17
Tavatanakit would soon share the lead. Kyriacou made a mess of the 17th, chunking a chip to make bogey. That meant it was a three-way tie between the Thai, the Aussie and the Japanese.
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3:27pm – Coughlin makes second straight bogey to drop to -15
After a bogey on 16 thanks to a three-putt down the slope, Coughlin found the greenside bunker on 17 and was unable to get up and down. Those back-to-back bogeys pushed her out of contention realistically, two back from the lead going down the last.
3:41pm – Furue finds 18th green in two
After seeing Kyriacou pull her tee shot left, Furue found the fairway on 18. She opted to go for it, and her second shot just made it across the water, settling around ten feet from the flag. Kyriacou would get on in three.
3:48pm – Furue sinks eagle putt to win Amundi Evian Championship
With the championship on the line, the Japanese made the putt to make eagle, and to secure the Amundi Evian Championship crown.
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