Angela Stanford won her maiden major at the age of 40 as Amy Olson's double-bogey at the last handed her fellow American victory at the Evian Championship.

The Texan started Sunday five shots adrift of 54-hole leader Olson at the Evian Resort Golf Club but finished with a three-under score of 68 to apply the pressure on the later starters.

Olson, also chasing her first major, held a one-stroke advantage on the last but she pushed her tee shot into the rough and failed to find the fairway with her next effort, leading to a costly six.

Mo Martin and Sei-young Kim would have forced a play-off with Stanford had they birdied the 18th but both could only manage pars.

Stanford had experienced an eventful finish to her round having followed an eagle at the par-five 15th with a double-bogey at the next.

Crucially, she picked up a shot at the 17th and nearly birdied the last too, not that it mattered in the end.

Stanford, who revealed in June that her mother was fighting cancer, was in tears when Olson missed her bogey putt to confirm she was a major champion.

Asked about her mother, Stanford told the Golf Channel: "I'm glad she got to see it.

"She might be the first to drink out of the trophy!"