Aki Iwai fired a bogey-free 63 to take a two-shot lead after the opening round of the 2026 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in France. The 24-year-old Japanese player’s eight-under-par effort was the lowest first-round score at the tournament since Ayaka Furue opened with the same number in 2022.

Iwai, who has one LPGA Tour victory, made her first birdie at the fifth before adding two more on seven and nine. She added consecutive birdies on 11 and 12, another pair on 15 and 16, and a closing birdie at 18.

“I was able to have a good focus on my golf and stay committed. I prepared a lot around the green with chipping and putting. I was driving well, but honestly everything was good,” Iwai said. “I like this course, it’s similar to a course in Japan.”

Delacour Posts Career-Best Major Round at Home

France’s Perrine Delacour sits alone in second place after a 65, the lowest round she has posted in a major championship. The two-time LET winner started on the back nine, making birdie at 10, eagle at 15, and back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to turn in four-under.

She dropped shots at the fifth and eighth but responded with birdies on six, seven, and 18 to finish on six-under with her parents watching from the gallery.

“It’s for sure a lot of fun playing in France, but playing great in France is even better,” Delacour said. “I almost had a hole-in-one on 16, which I’m kind of disappointed with because if I made a hole-in-one this week during tournament week I cut the hair of my caddie.”

Hull Recovers From Slow Start

Five players share third place on five-under: England’s Charley Hull, Sweden’s Maja Stark, Korea’s Haeran Ryu and Jin Hee Im, and Japan’s Mao Saigo.

World number five Hull opened with bogeys on the first and sixth holes but rallied with birdies on seven, eight, 13, 15, and 16 before holing an eagle putt on 18 for a round of 66.

“You have to be able to hit and create shots on slopes where you could have 127 yards and on a normal golf course, it would be an easy shot, but there the lie is crazy below your feet,” Hull said. “You just have to understand the slopes. My home golf course I grew up on, Kettering, that was always very hilly and there was never a flat shot.”

Stark went bogey-free in her 66, rolling in birdies on 14, 15, 16, five, and nine. “Every tee shot here freaks me out. I just thought we have to go for it, so it was pretty stress-free,” Stark said. “I’m very happy they’re making it harder and firmer.”

English Duo in Contention

Seven players are one shot further back on four-under, including England’s Cara Gainer and Lottie Woad, who both shot 67.

Gainer kept it clean all day. “I just played very solid, kept it in play which is the most important thing on this golf course,” she said.

Woad was five-under at one stage before dropping shots on the front nine, then closed with an eagle to return to four-under. “It was a nice finish with the eagle to get it back,” she said.

Round two begins at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, with the field cut to the top 65 players and ties at the end of the day.

Related: Amundi Evian Championship Increases 2026 Purse to $9.1 Million

The fourth women's major of the LPGA season offers a $1.1 million increase on last year's prize fund, with the winner set to collect $1.365 million at Evian Resort Golf Club this week.

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