Helen Alfredsson in 1994. Helen also won in 1998 & 2008
EVIAN Celebrates
25th BIRTHDAY Wonderful wishes and marvelous memories shared by some Evian Superb Champions from around the Golfing Globe - Happy 25th!
I
Story by Susanne Kemper
n 1994 Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson flew in from Los Angeles after an urgent call to come play from Franck Riboud in his new tournament. Helen said, “I fell in love with the place from the beginning. I still love it today. An athlete’s dream for a special event; Evian was that. In ‘94 we never thought of it being a Major. We all played golf and loved it, it numbed your soul. I was happy here, and we wanted to share it with our US friends. We did it for women’s golf to create something with Franck and Jacques. All my three victories were so important to me. In 1994 it was so good to have the tournament going. In 1998 after several years of injury and surgery it was great to be back winning here. 10 years later in 2008 it was definitely one of the highlights of my career.” Helen, Evian’s only 3-time winner, for the past five years has conducted Evian golf schools with clients, some TV work, and charity work in Sweden. Turning pro in 1985, Laura Davies, DBE in 2014, won the LET’s Belgium Open shortly thereafter starting her winning streak globally with yearly victories through 2010. The Hall of Famer with over 87 victories, with 4 Majors, recalls winning Evian in 1995, “This is the best golf I’ve played all year. It was a very different event then, but one of our best.” To date Laura is the only person to successfully
24
Ladies GOLF Summer/Autumn 2019/20 • ISSUE 26
defend her title, winning again in 1996. “I remember being very excited winning my first Evian, then defending the next year, it was a 4-shot win so a bit more relaxed but none the less a great win. I achieved my goal of the year by winning on both sides of the Atlantic.” Fans will remember in 1996 Laura, who is passionate about soccer (she plays annually in the Evian Soccer Match), had a miniature television in her golf bag so she could keep up to date with England’s exploits in that year’s European Football Championships. Not all were pleased, and Laura apologised – and Franck, fond of football too, understood. Sweden’s world-renown Annika Sorenstam won in 2000 and 2002. 2000 became co-sanctioned by the LPGA and increased to a one-million-pound prize fund. Karrie Webb had just taken the No.1 ranking from Annika, but Annika eagled the first play-off hole, hitting a 7-iron 172 yds to 7 feet against Karrie, triumphing at Evian. In 2002, Annika was the dominant female golfer, in regal form winning -19 four strokes ahead of runners-up Maria Hjorth and South Korean Mi Hyun Kim. Annika confirmed, “Evian has always been one of my favorite tournaments. It started out with a quaint feel on the LET. The crowds were small, everyone was dressed up like they www.ladiesgolfmagazine.com.au
