One year ago, Sara Kouskova finally achieved her dream of winning on the Ladies European Tour (LET) as she hoisted the trophy at Evian Resort.
The Czech star had come close to winning before but finally got over the line rolling in birdies on her final two holes to secure a two-stroke victory.
Kouskova returns this week to the Jabra Ladies Open de France which is taking place from 28-30 May at Evian Resort Golf Club.
Returning to Evian this week, the two-time LET winner reflected on her memories from her maiden victory in 2025.
“It’s still surreal,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful place and obviously it’s been tied with really nice memories and I couldn’t wait. It’s a place like no other. I probably won’t stop smiling this week, hopefully.
“It was that steady and patient work that we’ve been doing. Just that week it finally all came together in a way that we didn’t pressure anything. It just flew smoothly. It was a lot of flow in involved I think and a good mindset I would say for sure. That prep before the last round really helped and honestly it was just a really good ride through that last round, and it was flowing very naturally.
“It’s bringing a little tear in my eye [remembering], but it was a weird mixture of relief and happiness and it was very special and honestly, it was one of the best emotions when you think about all the hard work we’ve been doing and I was surrounded by people I love. It was just a really great week.”
After winning in France last year, the Czech star booked her place in the final two majors of the year – The Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open.
It was a full-circle moment for Kouskova, who had attended Evian through her sponsor Amundi a couple of years beforehand, and dreamed of playing in the championship.
She explained: “It was another step on the ladder that secured and obviously getting the spots at both of the majors felt big. Before I came to Evian, not playing, but with Amundi and doing media content here and that was two years ago and I couldn’t wrap my head around that one day I could be possibly playing in the event.
“My dad was here with me and he was saying, ‘I cannot wait to watch you here’ and I thought I hope I can make that happen one day. Then it fast forward two years, it happened and he was here again.
“It’s incredible to realize how far we’ve come as a team and with my family too, and their support. It’s just special. I think this place is just ties it together. I’m just grateful to be here. I would love to do it again and we’ll see.”
A field of 132 players representing 36 nationalities will be teeing it up in a 54-hole stroke play competition this week.
Kouskova comes into the week on the back of good form recording back-to-back top-10 finishes in Germany and Morocco and is enjoying spending time with her fellow Czech players in the mountains.
She added: “We have a beautiful chalet just a little up in the mountains and it feels very quiet and relaxing after some busy weeks. I needed a little break to just relax and this is exactly doing it, and I cannot wait for the week to start.
“The game feels good. It’s been feeling good for this season. I think the mindset wasn’t correct at the beginning. I pressured too much on myself on the results and everything.
“Actually, before Germany and after Mauritius, we stepped back a little bit and took a little deeper analysis of what I’m thinking about on the course and the overview that I’m having about the game. So, we tweaked some things and mentally I was just more relaxed on the course and stopped wanting the wins so much again.
“I think that’s essentially what it did, it just brought the game back to playing to my strengths and being calm on the golf course. I think especially for here it’s the mindset that I will need to do if I want to if I want to play well. So, we’ll just keep doing that and hopefully we’ll be in the position to try to defend it.”
Keep up to date with all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #JabraLadiesOpenDeFrance.
