[Photos: Tristan Jones/LET]
It has been commemorated with a permanent plaque and now a group of Aussies have tapped into Grace Kim’s Evian Championship miracle ahead of the Jabra Ladies Open de France.
In what she hopes will be a positive omen in pursuit of full status on the Ladies European Tour, Stephanie Bunque went as far as holing out from the exact same spot Kim did less than 12 months ago in winning the Amundi Evian Championship.
Announced as a MyGolf ambassador on Tuesday, Kim’s finish in claiming her first major title will go down in golf history as one of the most extraordinary the sport has ever seen.
After making eagle on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with world No.1 Jeeno Thitikul, Kim hit her second shot at the first extra hole into the creek beside the 18th green.
She then did the unthinkable, holing out with her chip shot from the rough to match Thitikul’s birdie, forever etching her name in golf folklore with an eagle to win at the second extra hole.
The six Aussies in the field this week – Bunque, Kelsey Bennett, Kirsten Rudgeley, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Justice Bosio and Whitney Hillier, along with reserve Belinda Ji – were all invited by the LET to recreate Kim’s historic shot during a practice round.
While Bennett and Bosio both lipped out, it was Bunque [below] who finally holed-out to generate plenty of positive energy prior to the first round teeing off today.
“We all hold that memory so dearly in our minds,” said Bunque, who enters the week 72nd on the Order of Merit and needing a good result prior to the mid-season re-rank.
“Every single one of us was in such a different part of the world when it happened, but we can all sort of share in the experience of how cool it was to see that happen for her and to be able to recreate it was very funny.
“I mean, I won’t tell you how many goes it actually took, but that was really cool.”
Sitting fourth on the Order of Merit on the back of a runner-up finish last week in Morocco, Bennett is generating an abundance of positive momentum.
A breakthrough winner at the Australian Women’s Classic in March, Bennett said she hopes to draw on Kim’s inspiration this week at Evian Resort Golf Club having endured a slightly different fate 12 months ago.
“I just remember watching it (Kim’s chip-in) on TV and thinking that at Jabra, I hit it in that water too,” Bennett said. “And then she holed the chip and I thought, I didn’t do that!
“Seeing an Aussie that I’ve grown up with be such a superstar and do something so amazing, it’s really cool to see and watch. Hopefully one day I can do the same.”
Leading by three going into the final round of the Lalla Meryem Cup last week, Bennett saw the positives in yet another strong performance in her second year on tour.
“It was awesome to be in a position of holding the lead for literally the majority of the tournament,” said the 26-year-old from the New South Wales South Coast.
“Obviously, I’m a little disappointed not to get the win, but if you told me second place at the start of the week, I probably would have been pretty happy with it. It’s all learning to be in those positions. It’s great. You can never complain about being in contention that’s for sure.”
