In the dozen years since the Amundi Evian Championship was declared a major by the LPGA Tour it has seen a series of course changes along with moves in the schedule, which has pushed players to learn how to navigate the ever-evolving and unique test presented by the Champions Course at Evian Resort Golf Club.
This week’s championship will present a brand new set of challenges for players after a four-month long renovation project brought changes to three holes, including the closing par five, 18th hole on the Champions Course.
“That was something that they wanted to do on their own,” said John Miller, Agronomist for the LPGA Tour about the club’s decision to renovate the course. “They actually worked with the architect who was the architect for the golf course, just trying to add a little bit of flair, make the holes a little bit more challenging, especially 18. So, it’ll be really interesting to see how our players will play those holes now.”
Grace Kim had plenty of flair when she made a critical closing eagle at the 18th hole to force a playoff with then world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul at the Amundi Evian Championship in 2025. But how Kim went about getting into that playoff might have played out differently with the changes that have been made to the golf course for 2026.
Miller says that two bunkers were added to landing areas off the tee at the 18th hole, in which one was installed on the right side of the fairway, which is essentially the first landing area off the tee.
“That first bunker on the right is really going to come into play because it’s perfectly right there in the landing zone. And in order to get it, you got to hit it in the middle of the fairway. And if you’re a little bit left, you’re in the rough,” Miller said. “That takes away the opportunity to potentially go for it. But if you hit it in the middle of the fairway, you know, you’ve got a big advantage naturally.”A second bunker was added on the left-hand side of the fairway, which is considered a second landing area. The addition of the two sand straps will give players much more to consider in whether they’ll be able to reach the green in two to set up a potential eagle opportunity as Kim did en route to victory last season.
“If you hit it into that [first] bunker now, the second bunker actually comes into play on the layout because you’ve got to decide if you want to get it past that bunker,” Miller said about the new strategy involved. “And you’ve got to make sure to clear that second bunker that had that shot going in it. If not, you’ve got to lay up short of that bunker and then you’ve got a longer approach.”
In addition to the 18th hole Miller says that changes were also made to the greens at the par four, first hole and the par three, fifth hole.
At the first hole, Miller says that 15 feet was added to the back right corner of the green and an additional bunker was built on the right side to guard that new area of the putting surface. Additionally, the fairway was extended along the right side of the fairway in order to meet the new sand trap.
At the fifth hole, Miller says that the green was expanded by 25-30 feet and was increased so dramatically in size that it will bring the water just short of the putting surface into play. Despite the changes to both holes, the course will essentially play to the same yardage as it has in years past at roughly 6,500 yards.
Miller says the most recent renovation project began in Nov. 2025 and was completed at the end of March but added that the changes weren’t ready to be put into competition during the Jabra Ladies Open de France on the Ladies European Tour when the tournament was staged at the club in May. Miller says the greens were too bumpy in May, but he’s optimistic that the course will be a little more grown in and mature for the Amundi Evian Championship to utilize some of the new hole locations.
“I think we’re in a pretty good sweet spot right now, and it’s one of those things it’s kind of like any other business, you continue to work on it, you try to get better every year,” Miller said about the current course conditions at Evian Resort Golf Club. “We wanted to be able to put some money into it to make some changes to kind of adapt the golf course so that it is a true major championship golf course.”
