Our annual trek to Europe begins as usual in the beautiful French Alps near Lake Geneva at one of my favorite events, the Evian Masters.  For the 17^th time (11 of them as an LPGA event co-sanctioned with the LET), Evian Masters Golf Club will host the premier women's golf tournament on the European continent.  Ai Miyazato won her first career title here last year in a one-hole playoff over Sophie Gustafson.

While not a long layout, the course is very hilly so the elevation changes can make club selection difficult at times.  Having watched many hours of Evian coverage over the last five years, I've gotten very familiar with the closing stretch of holes.  18 is the reachable-by-everybody par-5 which is still no gimme birdie.  17 is the shortest hole on Tour, the 117-yard downhill pitch-and-putt which is no gimme par.  16 is the short par-4 which is nearly impossible to drive because of its severe dogleg right at the green.  15 is the long par-5 with the extreme upslope to the green which can make a pitching wedge spin halfway back down the hill.  14 is the par-3 with the power lines draped across it...  Did I mention I like this event and course?  Anyway, Evian can play rather easy if they get some overnight rain (like the last two years) or it can be tough if they don't (like in 2007 and 2005).

Having the richest purse of all non-major tournaments (and $750,000 more than next week's major), Evian always draws a great crowd to its elite field.  Every active player in my Top 45 is here.  Because of the LET co-sanctioning many Europeans are here (Laura Davies, Melissa Reid and Lee-Anne Pace, to name a few) and invites are also extended to last year's top money winners on the JLPGA, KLPGA and ALPGA.  Hee Kyung Seo will make her fourth LPGA start of year (her first was a victory at the Kia Classic), joining Sun Ju Ahn, Sakura Yokomine, Yuri Fudoh and other fine players from the Asian tours.

They are fine players but every time I make a conscious effort to pick one of the Japanese or Korean visitors, I either can't find one who stands out enough to choose her among my Top 12 (not since Shin came to the LPGA, anyway) or I whiff badly.  No interlopers this week - I'm sticking with the LPGA regulars.