The tournament organizing committee has just announced three of the four wild cards. A nomination that goes in line with the priorities of the Evian Championship which focuses more than ever on the emergence of young talents and the future of world golf in its entirety.

“All of our decisions are consistent with the objective we have set for ourselves: to grow golf, develop its market and its practice and therefore bring out champions. Explains Franck Riboud, President of Danone and President of the Evian Championship.

The allocation of wild cards is part of this desire, highlighting the high amateur level and giving this young elite a chance to perform alongside the international champions.

After the qualification of Céline Boutier, N ° 1 in France and N ° 5 in the world amateur ranking, thanks to her formidable victory during the British Amateur, three other amateurs will be able, thanks to their wild cards, to line up at the start of the last Major of the season: the current Irishwoman N ° 1 worldwide, Leona Maguire, the N ° 2 French in the Merit Amateur Mathilda Cappeliez and the N ° 1 Swiss Albane Valenzuela. A fourth and last wild card will be awarded at the end of the summer tournaments.

Leona Maguire - Irish amateur - 20 years old (30-11-1994)

An accomplished sportswoman, Leona Maguire left a promising swimming career at the age of 9 to concentrate on golf. Just like her twin Lisa. Two talents have just been born, often inseparable, at the top of international leaderboards. In 2006, they were chosen to carry the Ryder Cup after Europe's victory at the K Club. A whole symbol. In 2007, the same year as Jordan Spieth, the famous pair was selected to compete in the Evian Masters Juniors Cup where Leona grabbed the 3rd step of the podium in individual. Since 2006, victories have been linked, around twenty, as have the team titles (2 in the Curtis Cup in particular) and the records (youngest player to have won the British Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship in 2011). In 2014, Leona joined Duke University in North Carolina. New accolades for the best university golfer of the year who settled at the top of the world amateur golf hierarchy.

Albane Valenzuela - Swiss amateur - 17 years old (17-12-1997)

It was at 3 years old that Albane kicked his first balls with his father, a top level golfer on the amateur circuit, but it was also on a golf course, that of Evian, that his parents met.
The trigger was when she was 7 years old: she wanted to be a professional golf player, like Paula Creamer. Today, at 17, her career seems set, Albane goes on victories, illustration last May or she won the Spanish international strokeplay.

Promising beginnings, the young golfer is at the top of the Swiss amateur classification but for the moment, Albane wishes to remain amateur until the end of her studies which she will pursue in 2016 at Stanford, like great golfers before her, Tiger Woods especially.

Mathilda Cappeliez - French amateur - 17 years old (13-05-1998)

Determined, the very young hope of French women's golf (59th of the US Open 2014) launched herself as a challenge to join the LPGA Tour next year. "This is where it happens," she confirms. These words full of ambition are accompanied by strong acts like his very good performances already achieved on many tournaments (a victory in the Ladies' Cup at France at 14 years old only or a title at the French Open in 2013) . La Haute Savoyarde perfectionniste, which has Annika Sorenstam as an example (whom she recently joined the academy in Orlando, Florida to train for), also admits to being fully inspired by Lydia Ko. Mathilda Cappeliez has already participated twice in the 'Evian Championship Juniors Cup (2nd in 2012, 3rd in 2011) and more recently in the 2015 qualifications of The Evian Championship, hoping to play the tournament one day. A dream come true.

For more information : www.evianchampionship.com