The fourth major championship of the 2025 LPGA season teed off on Thursday, as golf's best gathered to compete for the $8 million overall purse at the Evian Championship in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Along with eight other past champions, 25-year-old Japanese golfer and world No. 16 Ayaka Furue entered this week's edition looking to defend her 2024 title, finishing the opening round at four-under-par to sit in a respectable nine-way tie for seventh place.

No. 17 Céline Boutier, the 2023 champion, trailed Furue by one stroke, with the Frenchwoman heading into Friday's second round tied for 16th with six other golfers, including the US's No. 35 Megan Khang.

Currently leading the US contingent are No. 36 Andrea Lee and No. 38 Jennifer Kupcho, whose six-under opening round has them tied with three others at the top of the 2025 Evian Championship leaderboard.

Two strokes below the leaders — and clustered in that seventh-place tie with Furue — is world No. 1 Nelly Korda, making a solid start by finishing the day with four straight birdies.

Korda is hunting both a third career major title and her first win of the 2025 LPGA season this week.

"Overall, a couple parts of my game helped me and rescued me, and the other parts let me down," said Korda, following her opening round play. "That's golf. Just going to try and figure it out on the range."

Should Korda, or the other US contenders, finish the weekend atop the field, the US could see its first Evian champion since Angela Stanford in 2018.

How to watch the 2025 Evian Championship

The 2025 Evian Championship runs through Sunday, with live coverage airing on the Golf Channel.

Céline Boutier dominated the Evian Championship, winning by six strokes Sunday to capture the first major title of her LPGA career.

She’s also the first French golfer to win the major in her home country and just the third to win any LPGA major after becoming the winningest French player in March. The Evian Championship is held in Evian-les-Bains, France.

“Honestly, it has been my biggest dream ever since I started watching golf,” Boutier said. “This tournament has always been very special to me, just even watching as a teenager. To be able to hold this trophy is pretty unbelievable.”

During her impressive weekend, she was the only player to shoot all four rounds under 70, including a final round score of 68. She finished at a dominant 14-under for an overall score of 270.

Boutier’s six-stroke win is tied for the largest since the tournament became a major in 2013. She joins the company of Lydia Ko, who won the Evian Championship in 2015.

Brooke Henderson finished in second at 8-under, while a number of players finished at 7-under. Newly-minted pro Rose Zhang finished tied for ninth, her third straight top-ten finish at a major since turning pro in May.

And for Boutier, the win cements this year as one to remember, no matter what follows.

“I think nothing else matters now that I have this trophy,” she said. “So I’m really good for the rest of the year.”

Brooke Henderson is officially a two-time major champion, capturing the 2022 Evian Championship trophy Sunday.

A six-year gap separates the Canadian’s two titles, winning her first major in 2016 at the Women’s PGA Championship.

In a thrilling end to a chaotic final round, Henderson sunk an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th to secure victory. Henderson finished 17-under 267 at France’s Evian Resort Gold Club to edge American Sophia Schubert by one stroke, carding an even-par 71 Sunday.

The 24-year-old kept her composure as a group of golfers jostled for the lead, with the back nine at one point featuring a seven-way tie for first. Hanging onto Schubert, the duo entered the 18th hole tied before Henderson sealed the win with her impressive birdie putt.

“Going into the back nine, you know the saying is that majors are won on the back nine on Sundays, so I just tried to keep that frame of mind and knew that I was still in it if I could have a solid back,” Henderson said following her victory. “I was able to make a few birdies which was nice and then obviously to make that birdie on 18 makes it really nice.”

Lydia Ko, Kim Hyo-joo, Charley Hull, Carlota Ciganda and Mao Saigo all finished 15-under, two strokes off the lead.

 

The LPGA announced Tuesday that the Evian Championship has increased its prize money to $6.5 million. The winner of the major championship will receive $1 million.

In 2021, winner Minjee Lee earned $675,000. This year’s prize represents a $325,000 increase.

The tournament will take place from July 21-24 at Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France.

“We are incredibly appreciative of our friends and partners at the Amundi Evian Championship for their ongoing support of the LPGA Tour and the world’s best female golfers,” LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement. “Elevating the purse of this major championship makes a powerful statement about the value and status of the women’s game and the strong commitment of Amundi, Danone, Evian and Rolex to advancing the LPGA and our world-class athletes.

“We look forward to a spectacular week in Évian-les-Bains and I know that our players will share my gratitude and excitement.”

Since Marcoux Samaan was named commissioner in May of last year, the LPGA Tour has assembled a prize fund of more than $90 million for the 2022 season, a tour record that is up from last year’s $85.7 million.

Included in the number is the U.S. Women’s Open prize money, which has doubled this year to $10 million. Last year, the AIG Women’s British Open increased its prize fund to $5.8 million, and this year it sits at $6.8 million. This year’s winner of the CME Group Tour Championship will earn the largest check ever given in women’s golf, to the tune of $2 million.

The prize money at the Evian Championship will be distributed to all players, with players not making the cut receiving unofficial earnings.