Grace Kim produced the most stunning of performances at the Evian Championship to win out in a playoff and put her name firmly on the map on the LPGA side of things.
Kim came from nowhere to blitz through the field in the final six holes as she went seven under thru those six before going into a playoff with Atthaya Thitikul.
Thitikul, given her form this season and quality, was the favourite but in a remarkable turn of events, Kim won out.
The 24-year-old Australian made a stunning chip from way off the green to seal the deal and land only her second LPGA Tour win and first since 2023.
Still, in a touch of class from the Aussie, she was full of praise for her opponent.
Grace Kim praises Atthaya Thitikul after beating her in a playoff at the Evian Championship
Having looked nowhere near winning at one point, it was quite the surge from Grace Kim to win this one.
With a player like Thitikul in her way, it would have been easy for Kim to make mistakes and simply hand the trophy to the Thai star.
In the end, it was a titanic battle which shed another good light on the LPGA and speaking afterwards, Kim couldn’t praise Thitikul highly enough.
“Yeah, she’s obviously a great player. She’s played so well this year. I don’t think she’s finished outside top 10 even this year, this season,” Kim said.
“So, yeah, obviously we’re very close mates. She’s younger than me and been out here longer than I have. I look up to her positivity. She has a great smile.
“I made par on like 2 and she’s like, smile, you made par. It’s fine. So she keeps me grounded, so really nice friend to have around and I think great player to have on the Tour.”
- READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy did immediately after Chris Gotterup holed his putt to win The Scottish Open
The Evian Championship outshines the Scottish Open
Despite the PGA Tour and LIV Golf both having high profile events with big names like Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy firmly in contention, this weekend belonged to the LPGA Tour.
The sheer excitement of Kim’s win and how she played down the stretch was quite remarkable and if it was done by a Scottie Scheffler or Bryson DeChambeau, we’d never hear the end of it.
For now, the LPGA is leading the way on slow play issues and is also producing some of the best golf to tune into as a viewer.
After last year was dominated by Nelly Korda, everyone else seems to have upped their game and that has, in turn, benefitted the women’s game in its entirety.
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