Ranking the Most Controversial Moments in Amundi Evian Championship History

It is time for the fourth and only major championship of the female golf circuit, which will be played on the European greens. The Amundi Evian Championship will commence on July 11th at the historical and scenic Champions Course of the Evian Resort Golf Club, nestled in the town of Évian-les-Bains.

Top golfers from the LET and LPGA Tour will be teeing up for the Evian trophy and hoping that no mishap, whether a rule break or inclement weather, happens at the Champions Course, as it has happened in the past and disrupted the play.

3. Nanna Koerstz Madsen missed the cut after a brutal penalty

At the 2016 Evian Championship, a tiny mistake cost French golfer Nanna Koerstz Madsen a chance to contest at the Champions Course. What happened was that before playing her 18th hole in the opening round, Madsen brushed the sand on the fringe and signed her scorecard of 1 over 71 to head home, as Golfweek reported. As she was heading out, Sydnee Michael’s caddie, Paul Martinez, was looking for a rule official, but Madsen didn’t think it was related to her.

However, later, at 8 p.m., the LPGA Tour rule official called the French pro and notified her of the four-stroke penalty as she moved the sand. By doing so, the then-21-year-old broke two rules: Rule 13.2, ‘Improving lie, area of intended stance, swing, or line of play, and Rule 16.6, which accounts for signing the wrong scorecard.

Madsen explained that she was unaware of the ruling and told Martinez that he should’ve informed her about the ruling before she signed the card. Nonetheless, the four-penalty stroke resulted in her missing the cut as she ended her play with 7 over 149.

2. The LPGA Tour wiped away the opening scores at the Evian Championship

The Evian Championship’s first year as a major in 2013 was a mishap as inclement weather shortened it to a 54-hole event. Something similar occurred at the 2017 edition as a drastic storm took over Evian Resort GC. After the field started its first round on Champions Course, the weather went from good to bad, and play had to be suspended before any pro could play even nine holes.

Eventually, as the weather worsened, the LPGA Tour wiped away all the leads, including those of Jessica Korda and So Yeon Ryu, who were leading with 2 under, and decided to start the tournament anew on Friday, shortening it to 54 holes. This decision surprised Korda, Sung Hyun Park, and many others, as their scores no longer mattered. The LPGA Tour received flak from the golf world, but commissioner Mike Whan justified it as the right decision so that the event wouldn’t extend to Monday or Tuesday.

1. Carlota Ciganda gets disqualified over a slow-play debacle

Carlota Ciganda was disqualified from the 2023 Evian Championship after she refused to accept the two-stroke penalty for slow play. During her final hole on the Friday round, the Spanish pro was flagged for slow play by the Tour rule officials. To this end, Ciganda appealed, but it was “heard and denied.” Subsequently, the 34-year-old didn’t accept the penalty and signed the scorecard without adding those.

The officials had informed her that, on account of not following the decision, she would face disqualifications, and that’s exactly what happened. Later, Ciganda took to her social media and clarified that she didn’t take 52 seconds for her final shot, as the rule official claimed, and called out the LPGA Tour for poor performance. Ciganda was bound to miss the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship’s weekend even if she had accepted the penalty, which would have put her outside of the cutline.

Will the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship bring about any such situations for the pros? It remains to be seen.