Kim, with a stunning finish, gains first major title

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — Grace Kim always dreamed of winning a major on the LPGA Tour. What happened Sunday in a wild final hour at the Evian Championship was beyond her imagination. "I don't know how it happened, really," Kim said after an eagle-birdie-eagle finish to win on the second playoff hole against Jeeno Thitikul. A final round at Evian Resort that nearly saw Lottie Woad become the first amateur to win a major in 58 years ended with Kim standing upright after her 12-foot eagle putt dropped, with her hand over her mouth, motionless as she tried to digest what had transpired. Two shots behind on the final hole, Kim hit a 4-hybrid so perfectly that it slowed at the top of a slope behind the flag and rolled back to 2 feet for an eagle and a 4-under 67 to force a playoff with Thitikul. Her approach to the par-5 18th in a playoff bounced off a cart path, over rocks and into the water, while Thitikul was in good position to make birdie. Tournament over? Not quite. Kim pitched over the pond and across the green and into the cup for birdie to stay alive. "I was pretty bummed to find out that my ball was in the middle of the water. But, again, it's not quite finished until the very end," Kim said. "Just wanted to make sure I got it there. Yeah, just happened to have chipped it in. I don't know if I can do it again." Back to the 18th for a third time — twice in the playoff — the Australian again hit 4-hybrid to 12 feet. Thitikul, who missed an 8-foot birdie putt in regulation for the win, missed the green to the left and chipped to 5 feet. She never had to putt. Kim holed the eagle putt to capture her first major, and second LPGA title. She is a four-time winner of Karrie Webb's scholarship, which entails spending time with Australia's greatest golf champion. She was at Hazeltine in 2021 when Hannah Green won the Women's PGA. She is the second straight Aussie to win a major, following Minjee Lee. "It's a huge achievement for me," Kim said. "I've had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation. I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit. So to be sitting here next to this trophy is definitely surreal." It was a big setback for Thitikul, who along with Ai Miyazato is the only woman to have reached No. 1 in the world ranking without winning a major. Thitikul's biggest challenge had been Woad, the No. 1 amateur who was coming off a win in the Irish Women's Open and at one point had the lead on the back nine of Evian Resort. She closed with 64 and then waited to see if that would be enough. Woad was bidding to become the first amateur to win a major since Catherine Lacoste at the 1967 U.S. Women's Open. Thitikul birdied the 17th to take the lead, and the Thai player was on the verge of her first major when she laid up short of the pond and hit wedge into 8 feet on the final hole. But then Kim appeared with the sublime 4-hybrid to 2 feet for eagle. Thitikul's birdie putt for the win just missed to the right and she shot 67 to join Kim at 14-under 270. "I think I'm so proud of myself on battling out there today," Thitikul said. Woad tied for third with Lee (68) and now has secured an LPGA card for the rest of this year and all of next year if the senior-to-be at Florida State chooses to turn pro. Woad already is in the Ladies Scottish Open and Women's British Open. She had mixed emotions at the end, happy about her opportunity to play the LPGA, bummed about not getting birdie on the 455-yard closing hole. "I'm going to be thinking about one shot probably for a while, but I'm very happy how I played today," said Woad, who won the Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2024. "Great week." Kim's victory extended what already is a record streak in the LPGA Tour's 75-year history, the 18th consecutive tournament to start a season with a different winner. It also makes 13 different winners in the last 13 majors. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf