The youngest of the five majors in women's golf, the Evian Championship received the status of one in 2013, 19 years after the tournament began. To date, the coveted event is the only women's major that has been staged at one course, the Evian Resort Golf Club in France.

Jointly sanctioned by the LPGA and the LET, the Evian Championship sees the most elite golfers descend upon continental Europe every year in hopes of nabbing the prestigious trophy. But when was the tournament played for the first time? Who has won the Evian Championship the most number of times? Let's dive in to find out more!

The rich history of the Evian Championship

The Evian Championship was founded in 1994 by Antoine Riboud, the founder and former president of Danone, and his son, Franck. The father-son duo had long dreamed of showcasing golf competition on the Ladies European Tour (LET). "The story of this event is amazing, because 20 years ago, it was a pro-am created by a man who loved women’s golf," French pro Gwladys Nocera once said about the tournament's humble beginnings. "Now, it’s one of the five biggest events in the world."

It became an official event on the LPGA Tour in 2000, with golf legend Annika Sorenstam claiming the title. The co-sanctioned status of the competition also led to a significant increase in the prize purse. Eventually, in 2013, the Evian Championship became the fifth major in women's golf.

Over the years, the tournament has also seen the prize purse increase by leaps and bounds. In 2022, the Evian Championship boasted a record prize purse of $6.5 million, out of which winner Brooke Henderson took home a whopping $1 million.

Evian Resort Golf Club: The Home of the Evian Championship

The Evian Resort Golf Club in Southeastern France was originally opened in 1904 as a 9-hole course. It was later extended to 18 holes in 1922. The viewpoints of Lake Geneva and the Alpine Summits are what give this course its unprecedented beauty.

In 1994, the golf course hosted the first-ever edition of the Evian Championship (then called the Evian Masters). Since then, the landmark venue has undergone significant changes to prepare for the progressively high level of play.

Over the years, the schedule of the Evian Championship has undergone many changes. From 2013 to 2018, it was held in September and served as the fifth and final major of the year. However, then-LPGA commissioner Mike Whan admitted that the September schedule was a mistake and vowed to move it back to the summer by 2019. Currently, the tournament is staged during the last full weekend in July and is the fourth major of the year.

Evian Championship: Sponsors and Partners

In 2021, Amundi, a leading French Asset Management Company, joined the Evian Championship as the title sponsor. The same year, the prize purse of the tournament also increased from $4.1 million to an incredible $4.5 million. A year later, the tournament saw its highest prize purse yet, which was $6.5 million! Other leading sponsors associated with the tournament include Danone, Evian, Rolex, Accenture, and LG Electronics, among others.

Evian has been a long-standing partner of the event since its first edition in 1994. Meanwhile, Rolex has lent its support to the competition since 2000. To date, five Rolex testimonies have emerged winners at the Evian Resort Golf Club: Annika Sorenstam (2000, 2002), Suzann Pettersen (2013), Lydia Ko (2015), Anna Nordqvist (2017), and Brooke Henderson (2022).

The format of the Evian Championship over the years

The Evian Championship is a 72-hole stroke-play, four-day event. After the first 36 holes, the top 70 players and ties make the cut. The player with the lowest total score at the end of the tournament emerges as the winner. In the event of a tie, a playoff will be held under LPGA Tour rules. Back in 2017, the event had been shortened from 72 to 54 holes. It was because the first day's play had been canceled due to bad weather. Sweden's Anna Nordqvist won the major that year by beating America's Britanny Altomare. The tournament was reduced to 56 holes in 2013 as well.

In 2013, the year the tournament was played as a major for the first time, the field was set for 120 players. Suzann Pettersen had beaten then-amateur Lydia Ko to win the title. Eight years later, in 2021, the field for the event was set at 126. Then, in 2022, the tournament featured a 132-player field, its highest ever to date. In 2023, too, the player field will remain at 132.