EVIAN LES-BAINS, France – Amy Alcott feels like the American ambassador to the Evian Championship.
Alcott, the Hall of Famer, is here this week celebrating Evian’s move to a major championship. She feels like she helped the event get here.
This tournament got its start as the Evian Masters in 1994 as a Ladies European Tour event. Alcott became the first American to play in it in ’96.
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“I was told it was a small, little event that was off the radar, but I would love it,” Alcott said.
Alcott fell in love with this resort town tucked on Lake Geneva near the border of Switzerland. She said Evian’s Franck Riboud confided his large vision for growing the event and wanted her help in an introduction to the LPGA commissioner at the time, Jim Ritts. Riboud is the CEO of Groupe Danone, which owns the Evian mineral water company and Dannon Yogurt.
In 2000, the Evian Championship became a co-sanctioned LPGA event. This year, it becomes the tour’s fifth major championship.
“I’m very proud of this event,” Alcott said.
