In one of the most unforgettable finishes in women’s golf history, Australia’s Grace Kim pulled off two jaw-dropping shots to capture the Amundi Evian Championship, sealing her place in the pantheon of major champions in style.
Trailing Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul by two shots on the 72nd tee, the 24-year-old from Sydney delivered a moment of pure brilliance. With a 4-hybrid in hand, Kim struck her second shot at the par-5 18th from 190 yards. The ball bounced just short of the hole, climbed a ridge, and then trickled back to within two feet—leaving her a near tap-in eagle. When Thitikul narrowly missed a seven-foot birdie to seal victory, Kim calmly converted her eagle for a final-round 67 and a share of the clubhouse lead at 14-under.
It set up an electric playoff between two close friends, and the drama was far from over.
On the first playoff hole, Kim looked destined for defeat when her second shot flared right into the creek lining the 18th. Thitikul was safely on the edge of the green in two. But after taking a penalty drop, Kim pulled off what will surely go down as one of the greatest shots in major championship lore: a pitch-in birdie from rough across the creek. The crowd erupted.
“I just wanted to get it close,” Kim said after. “I don’t know if I can do it again. That was great.”
The pressure was now on Thitikul, and incredibly, she responded by draining her birdie putt from nearly the same spot she had missed in regulation—forcing a second playoff hole.
Once more they played the 18th. Both players found the fairway, but this time Kim stuck her approach to 10 feet. Thitikul flew the green and left herself six feet for birdie after a tricky chip. She wouldn’t get a chance to putt. Kim drained her eagle putt—her third of the day and second in three holes—to seal a sensational win.
“This is unbelievable,” Kim said afterward. “Didn’t really know I was going to be sitting here this soon.”
Her victory follows Minjee Lee’s triumph at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, marking back-to-back majors for Australia and highlighting the incredible depth in the current Aussie LPGA contingent. Kim becomes just the fifth Australian woman to win a major, joining legends like Karrie Webb, Minjee Lee, Jan Stephenson, and Hannah Green.