With a week off leading into the final PGA Tour event of the season (the TOUR Championship), the LPGA and European tour had the spotlight to themselves in terms of the golf action from around the world this past weekend. Neither tour disappointed with In Gee Chun delivering a memorable major performance at The Evian Championship while Francesco Molinari took care of business as the hometown favorite at the Italian Open. Here’s a look at our golf recap of this weekend’s events.
The Evian Championship
LPGA Tour
We start our LPGA golf recap with In Gee Chun. She clinched her second major title win in style at The Evian Championship on Sunday. Chun sank a difficult part putt on 18 to hold at 21 under and set a new record for the lowest score ever in a men’s or women’s major. The 22-year-old spoke afterwards about the nerves she felt down the final stretch but there were no signs of those issues on the greens where she took care of business. Chun finished four strokes ahead of her countrywomen Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu in what was clearly her best effort of the season after she led from start to finish. Chun is only the second player in LPGA Tour history to have her first two LPGA wins come at major tournaments, following in the footsteps of another fellow countrywomen in Se Ri Pak, who accomplished that feat in 1998. Chun had missed a month with a back injury caused in a bizarre circumstance where she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that a rival player dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport. Chun has been open about the physical and psychological damage she has deal with since that injury but she held it together in style at the French course and delivered the most memorable performance of her career. Other notable finishes from The Evian Championship include Shanshan Feng finishing fourth at 15-under and Sei Young Kim finishing fifth at 14-under. Rookie sensation Ariya Jutanugarn finished tied for ninth at seven-under, while world No. 1 Lydia Ko finished a disappointing 43rd for one of her most surprising results of the season.
Top 10 Scores From The Evian Championship
In Gee Chun -21
So Yeon Ryu -17
Sung Hyun Park -17
Shanshan Feng -15
Sei Young Kim -14
In-Kyung Kim -12
Angela Stanford -10
Haru Normura -9
Ariya Jutanugarn -7
Brooke M. Henderson -7
Italian Open
European Tour
We start our European Tour golf recap with Francesco Molinari. He stole the spotlight as the hometown favorite over the weekend, posting a final round of 65 to reach 22 under and become the first Italian to win the Italian Open twice. Molinari managed to hold off Danny Willett down the final stretch with an eagle-birdie to open the final round and some consistent play the remained of the way to secure the one-stroke win. The 2006 winner appeared to be cruising until Willett went birdie-eagle on the 13th and 14th to cut the gap to one. Molinari bogeyed the 13th hole, but birdies on 12 and 15 allowed him just enough cushion to complete the narrow victory. Meanwhile, Spaniard Nacho Elvira and England’s Chris Paisley, who had led after the second round, finished tied for third at 18-under. Next up for the European Tour is the Porsche European Open, which begins on Thursday in Germany.
Top 10 Scores From The Italian Open
Francesco Molinari -22
Danny Willett -21
Nacho Elvira -18
Chris Paisley -18
Richard Bland -16
David Horsey -16
Jorge Campillo -15
Alejandro Canizares -15
Tommy Fleetwood -15
Scott Jamieson -15
FedEx Cup Standings Update
As we get set for the home stretch in the PGA, let’s do a golf recap of the current standings in the FedEx Cup. As of right now, Dustin Johnson is the leader in the clubhouse with 5,189 points. He has notched three wins on the season, including the last PGA Tour stop. Right behind him is Patrick Reed, who has had a good year but is also there because he has played in far more events. Johnson has played in 21 while Reed has played in 27. No other player who is currently in the Top 10 of the FedEx Cup standings has played as many as Reed. Adam Scott is in third place with 3,479 points while playing in 19 events and right behind him is Jason Day, who has 3,409 points after playing in 19 PGA Tour events as well. England’s Paul Casey rounds out the Top 5, even though he hasn’t won an event on the PGA Tour so far this year.
