Staff WriterThe Amundi Evian Championship wasted no time delivering the drama, as five players – Jennifer Kupcho, Grace Kim, Gabriela Ruffels, Andrea Lee, and Leona Maguire – fired matching 65s to share the first-round lead at -6 in France.
It marks the most crowded top spot after Round One since the tournament became a major in 2013, and for once, the leaderboard is less of a ladder and more of a logjam.
Let’s start with Jennifer Kupcho, who has the kind of résumé that makes most locker rooms go quiet when she walks in.
The American carded an eagle on No. 9, five birdies, and a single blemish on the 13th, navigating the slopes of Evian-les-Bains with the casual authority of someone selecting pastries at a French café.
“I haven’t really started well with the majors this year… this golf course is a little bit different than others,” Kupcho admitted. “You can have some bad bounces so I think it’s just taking it and doing with it what you can.” Judging by the 28 putts and 14 greens in regulation, she’s certainly doing something right.
Australia’s Grace Kim matched Kupcho’s 65, but hers came without a single bogey – as clean a scorecard as a priest’s confessional. She holed out from the bunker on No. 2, made three sand saves, and hit 12 fairways. “I went home-home to Sydney,” said Kim of her preparation.
“Just the mental reset halfway through the season… played a couple money matches back at home as well so that probably helped.” A mental reset and a bogey-free major round? That’s a pretty tidy ROI.
Gabriela Ruffels, making just her second appearance at The Amundi Evian Championship, also joined the leaders with a bogey-free round. She hit 16 greens and found just enough fairways to stay out of trouble.
It was her first time ever leading after a round on the LPGA Tour. “We went kind of as guests of Todd Woodbridge,” she said, recounting a recent trip to Wimbledon. “He got us into the members-only area which was so cool… definitely a Bucket List thing.” You get the sense she’s adding another item to that list this week.
Andrea Lee, usually the quiet one in the group, let her clubs do the talking. Seven birdies and just one bogey gave her a share of the lead and the highest birdie count of the day.
“It was a really solid round,” she said. “Nothing was like incredible I thought, but I made quite a few putts.” Golfers love to downplay 65s, but Lee’s consistency has become hard to ignore – four top-10s already this season.
But the most memorable swing of the day? That belonged to Leona Maguire. After opening with a bogey on 10, she found her groove with five birdies and a hole-in-one on No. 2, thanks to a pinpoint 8-iron from 164 yards.
“Looked good all the way,” said Maguire. “Nice to be able to walk down this hill without a putter in your hand.” It’s her first ace on the LPGA Tour and the 10th of the season, not to mention a nice little $20,000 donation to the CME Group Cares Challenge.
Sitting one shot back at -5 is Minjee Lee, who recorded the second-most birdies of the day and knows this track well – she won The Amundi Evian Championship back in 2021.
“I just think every day it’s going to get drier and drier,” Lee observed. “So, yeah, maybe just get a little bit tougher each day especially being a major.” Spoken like someone who knows how to weather both the sun and the pressure.
Not everyone had a round to remember. Charley Hull withdrew after 13 holes due to illness, and Mirabel Ting’s professional debut came with a harsh 78 – welcome to the big leagues.
Still, the biggest story from The Amundi Evian Championship is the sheer unpredictability.
Five players, all with something to prove, are leading the charge. Between Kupcho’s experience, Kim’s composure, Ruffels’ fresh confidence, Lee’s steady climb, and Maguire’s fireworks, we’re set up for a showdown that’s part poetry, part punch-up.
One thing’s for certain: The Amundi Evian Championship is wide open, and if day one was any indication, the fireworks are far from over.
