Céline Boutier, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Perrine Delacour, Agathe Laisné,
the “French Touch”

Each year, The Amundi Evian Championship is entitled to its “French Touch”. At the 2022 edition of the major, Céline Boutier, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Perrine Delacour and Agathe Laisné will take to the fairways on the challenging layout of The Champions Course. A week that has a special place in the heart of the French players, who are given the opportunity to express themselves at a major championship in front of a home crowd. They are neither the same age nor have the same experience, but they all have the one and same goal, that of bringing enjoyment to themselves and to others on a course they know only too well. In front of a crowd that is already behind them, they will obviously endeavour to play their best golf, in the hope of seeing their name at the top of the leaderboard on the evening of Sunday 24th July. At a time when golf is increasingly open (see also: Minjee Lee, where will she stop?), there is reason to have high hopes. An overview of the top French players at the event.

Céline Boutier
The French number 1 is undoubtedly France’s best hope in Haute-Savoie. A regular at the leading events, the Clamart (France) native has played in the Solheim Cup and finished 4th at the latest Chevron Championship, but has never managed to make it into Top 10 in Evian, having done so at all the other major championships. Therefore, the 2022 edition of The Amundi Evian Championship represents a real opportunity for her, especially as her last result here remains her best performance (T29 in 2021 and in 2014). She has already produced six Top 10 finishes this year on the LPGA Tour. One more, one less, we're not picky...

Pauline Roussin-Bouchard
The love story between Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and Évian just keeps going. Since her beginnings here at the Haribo Kids Cup, which she won twice (2011 and 2012), the Columbia College University student shines brighter year on year. In 2017, she competed in The Amundi Evian U18 and almost took first place, finishing 3rd in the event. A few years later, in 2019 and then in 2021, she rubbed shoulders with the crème de la crème of women’s world golf taking part in The Amundi Evian Championship. The former amateur world number 1 - 34 weeks in the top position - missed the cut at her first participation and made it to 38th place at the previous edition. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard has every reason to believe she can do better this year, having carded a bogey-free 68(-3) on her final round in 2021.

Perrine Delacour
While France can brag about the emergence of golfers such as Pauline Roussin-Bouchard or Agathe Laisné, it can also be proud of having players in its ranks who have maintained their place on the leading world tours over the long term. This is what Perrine Delacour has done. Aged 28, the 2013 Rookie on the LPGA Tour will be competing for the 3rd time in The Amundi Evian Championship, after 2017 and 2021. Last year, she missed the cut by one shot, despite two birdies on the final four holes. This season has been one of ups and down on the US tour, with six Top 35 finishes that compensate for the five missed cuts. Overall, the result is very positive because she is competing more and more in the majors and has only missed two cuts in her last nine tournaments. Based on this progress, combined with the upward trend in her rankings between her first and second participation in Evian, we can expect to see Perrine Delacour among the players in the final sprint on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th July.

Agathe Laisné

Agathe Laisné is most definitely part of the family of rising French golf stars. Her experience and years of playing golf have enabled the former student at the University of Texas (Austin, USA) to gradually take her place among the leading French players on tour. She signed her first professional contract in January at the age of 22, after a busy amateur career. A member of France’s Junior and then Ladies teams, a Junior Solheim Cup player and the individual European Ladies champion, she has already taken part in five majors (The Amundi Evian Championship 2015 & 2017, British Women Open 2018, US Women Open 2020 and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 2022). Player of the US Amundi Team, she has nothing to lose in Evian as she competes against the elite in women’s world golf, and while she doesn't have the experience of players such as Inbee Park and Jin-Young Ko, she’s not a complete new kid on the block either... Let's see what happens on 21st July.