The spotlight was shining on Grace Kim early on at The Amundi Evian Championship on Thursday, but as the LPGA Tour winner came down the stretch, her pants tried to steal that spotlight.

You read that right.

After a bathroom stop on Evian Resort Golf Club’s seventh hole, the zipper in the front of Kim’s trousers got stuck. She played her final three holes fly-down, but that didn’t stop her from carding two more birdies on the way to a 6-under 65, one that has her in a five-way tie for the lead after the first round of the year’s fourth major.

The 24-year-old impressively hit the green in two on the par-5 18^th hole; however, her only focus was getting off the green with as little embarrassment about her wardrobe malfunction as possible.

“I hit the green, and I didn't even really appreciate that I hit the green in two on a par 5, and then made a two-putt birdie,” said Kim with a giggle after her round. “I was too worried about my fly. I guess maybe it doesn’t happen often, but it was a great, interesting experience.”

The mishap and her ability to laugh at it, even though it was embarrassing, was something that Kim called a “blessing in disguise” after the round. The Aussie can sometimes find herself taking things a little too seriously, and her fly malfunction was a good reminder to laugh things off, as she is now contending for her second career LPGA Tour victory and first since the 2023 LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei.

Kim is one of four Epson Tour alumni at the top of the leaderboard after the opening 18 holes at Evian Resort Golf Club, alongside 2023 Player of the Year Gabriela Ruffels, 2022 Casino Del Sol Golf Classic winner Andrea Lee and 2019 graduate Leona Maguire. The two Aussies, Ruffels and Kim, were the only leaders to card bogey-free rounds, and both will be working to join Karrie Webb and Minjee Lee as the third Australian winner of this championship over the next 54 holes in France.

“I think we're all pretty self-sufficient in the sense that we don't always need to hit off firm, flat grounds. We know how to work different lies and different angles and wind directions,” said Kim about why Australians have success in France. “Obviously, it's quite tight off the tees on some holes, so I think we're pretty patient in a sense with that. But at the same time, we're very skillful, so, yeah, I guess come at us.”

The second round begins at 7:00 a.m. local time on Friday, with Kim teeing off on Evian Resort Golf Club’s first hole. She’s in the first group with both 2024 Epson Tour graduate and her fellow Aussie, Cassie Porter, and People’s Republic of China native Muni He. Fans can tune into Golf Channel beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern time for live coverage.

Grace Kim Goes Low Despite Wardrobe Malfunction on Thursday at Amundi Evian Champ

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