By: Max Bechtoldt
In mere hours the penultimate women’s golf major kicks off, meaning by the end of the week, another champion will join Nelly Korda, Yuka Saso and Amy Yang with major titles in 2024. Read below to see who I am most confident in this week:
No. 5 Rose Zhang – Though generally the top players thrive at Evian, it is hard to find a strong candidate for potential winners. Most of this is because very few players perform well on the course year after year. This will be Zhang’s fourth time playing at this event, she has made the cut the previous three times. In 2023, Zhang had her first top-10 in the event. The timing seems right for Zhang to make another serious push at a major title and she fits the bill of other past champions.
No. 4 – Nelly Korda – Just to warn everyone, this is going to be a pretty chalk list. But, this is a pretty chalk tournament. Rarely does a player come out of nowhere, and when they do their career usually takes off. The world No. 1 has struggled mightily the past few events after her searing start. This is a good place to get back on track. Korda has finished in the top 20 at Evian the last three seasons, and top 10 in the last two. Her game is too good to be performing at the level of three consecutive missed cuts, I expect a turnaround to happen fast.
No. 3 – Lydia Ko – When I said earlier few players have a lot of strong results at Evian, Ko is a clear exception. Evian has been a feeding ground for Lydia. The first time she played the event, at 16-years-old, Ko finished runner-up. In total, Ko has four top-three finishes at the course, and a win back in 2015. In 7/10 playings Lydia has finished in the top 10. Ko’s season hasn’t lived up to the fast start in the first few events, but on this course, I have total and complete faith in her.
No. 2 – Jin Young Ko – Jin Young Ko is back. While her season started slow in both appearances and solid results, the last few weeks have been terrific. Ko finished 12 at Shoprite, runner up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and eighth at the Dow Championship alongside Nasa Hataoka. When Ko gets in a groove it is tough to slow her down, as evidenced by her two LPGA Tour Player of the Year awards. Ko’s second major championship came at Evian in 2019. She hasn’t won one since. I could very well see that streak ending here.
No. 1 – Brooke Henderson – Clearly Brooke Henderson figured out Evian. While she had some good results prior to 2022, with two top-10 finishes and no missed cuts, it has been the last two seasons that give me ultimate confidence in her chances this week. Henderson finally won her second-career major in 2022 here, and followed that up with a runner-up finish in 2023. Not only her recent success on this course, but she also has had a very strong season in need of a win. Despite not having lifted a trophy yet, Henderson is No. 6 in the CME Standings. Her recent results haven’t been as good as the beginning of the season, but that doesn’t worry me too much with Henderson. She can get out of a slump as well as anyone on tour.
