The LPGA Tour will be moving to the serene lakeshore of Lake Geneva for the fourth and only major held on the European Greens. The 30th Amundi Evian Championship will start on July 13th at the Champions Course of the ever-lasting Evian Resort. The Amundi Championship has been historically held at the Champions Course which came into existence in 1904 as a nine-hole course with the resort.

It was only after 76 years that the Champions Course was redesigned by prominent European architect Cabell B. Robinson in the 1980s and changed into a complete 18-hole course, which would be a mystical challenge for any golfer. But the Champions Course became a huge venue for the women’s circuit only in 1994 when the Evian Masters was announced for the Ladies European Tour.

It became an LPGA Tour event in 2000 and only after 13 years did the Champions Course become a venue for the women’s fifth major, known as the Amundi Evian Championship. The pristine golf course has been nestled between the beautiful Lake Geneva and the Alp mountains of the town of Evian-les-Bains. And went through a total renovation to be on par as a major championship course before it started in 2013.

Architect Steve Smyers tweaked the design of the course and tweaked many holes for it to be suitably challenged for the top pros. It did become a challenge, yet was admired by many top golfers. However, not everyone was pleased by the Evian Resort’s Champions course.

The women golfer relay their contrasting views on Champions Course

After being named a women’s major in 2013, the Champions Course crowned Norwegian star Suzann Pettersen as the first Amundi Evian Championship winner on the 71-par course. The 2-time major winner was extremely delighted about winning her second major in Continental Europe and a fan of the Champions Course. Admiring its natural settings, Pettersen admiringly said, “It’s just a unique spot… a romantic spot.”

Even the legendary LPGA Tour star, Karrie Webb, was in awe of the course after a few holes were changed in 2013, particularly holes 13 and 18. The 7-time major winner appreciated the redesigns and claimed, “The changes to the finishing holes make for great theater to crown a champion and the hospitality is second to none in one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

However, even though the Champions Course left many pros impressed, it was Lexi Thompson who first relayed some of its flaws. After missing the Evian Championship’s cut in 2019, Thompson took to her Instagram and shared how the Champions Course had many bad breaks despite her hitting good shots. She then described it as a course not for her and was thankful that she didn’t have to play it for two more days.

The 11-time LPGA Tour winner soon retracted her post and apologized, as she explained that she didn’t mean to demean the course and it was just confusion. However, Thompson wouldn’t be the only pro who was dissatisfied with the course. Former world no. 1 Stacy Lewis stayed away from the tournaments for two years in a sort of protest to make the Champions Course a major championship standard.

This year, many top players like Nelly Korda, the French pro Celine Boutier, world no. 2 Lilia Vu, and many others will be taking the Champlain Course challenge. Though Thompson will be missed from the field, it will be enthralling to see who will win at the Evian Resort’s Champions Course despite its challenges and lavish beauty.