Haeran Ryu recovered from a rough start to secure her first career major title, winning the Women's PGA Championship by two strokes over Ina Yoon on a windy Sunday at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Ryu shot a 2-under 70 to finish at 13-under 275 and become the sixth South Korean to win the event over the last 12 editions, flashing a big smile after sinking her last putt as friends ran out to douse her in celebration.
The 2023 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year was also the first major champion in at least the last 60 years to rally from a 10-plus-shot deficit after the first round. Ryu opened Thursday with a 73 in a tie for 70th place, as Yoon shot a tournament-record 63.
Playing her first event in six weeks, Ryu shook off whatever rust she showed and heeded some keen advice from her coach about moving forward.
“You don’t have another problem so just trust your shot and trust your caddie and trust yourself on the golf course,” Ryu said during the trophy ceremony on the 18th green.
Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber tied for third at 10 under. Three Americans — Allisen Corpuz, Auston Kim and Alison Lee — tied for fifth place, six strokes behind Ryu.
“Haeran played unbelievable today,” Yoon said. “Brooke, I like to play her, play with her all the time. She’s such a nice girl. I learned a lot today, this week.”
LPGA Tour leader Nelly Korda wrapped up a frustrating weekend on the greens with a 73 to finish in a four-way tie for eighth, failing to become the third player to win the first three majors of the season.
The course was closed for most of the morning while a thunderstorm moved through the Twin Cities metro area, dropping more than an inch of rain and pushing all of the tee times back by 3 1/2 hours while players tried to stay focused and loose. That left the greens extra soft and the air especially gusty, making many of Hazeltine’s notoriously long fairways even trickier.
Ryu was five strokes behind Yoon in a four-way tie for second after two rounds and surged to the top on Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Henderson, the third time she’s been ahead or tied for the lead entering the final round of a major.
The 25-year-old Ryu bogeyed three of her first five holes before settling in and flexing her ball-striking muscle on a particularly tough afternoon for putting.
Ranking in the top three on the tour in approach, tee to green, and greens in regulation, Ryu went 4 under over the final 12 holes to separate from the pack in a far more relaxing finish than she was on track for. Four different players held a solo lead over the front nine.
Weber became only the fourth women’s player from the Netherlands to finish in the top 20 at a major tournament, with Anne van Dam the most recent at the 2024 British Women’s Open. Only one player on the men’s side has ever done so.
The 23-year-old Yoon had her best finish on the LPGA Tour, deftly rebounding from a 75 on Saturday and a double bogey on the third hole on Sunday.
“Little disappointed yesterday and today, but I think I did pretty good job being under pressure and it’s just part of golf,” Yoon said. “I think it’s going to be a really big lesson in the big picture.”
Korda turns her focus to the next two majors
Korda made the turn only three shots back and birdied the 10th hole, but her short game fell short down the stretch in similar fashion to the third round. She three-putted five different times at Hazeltine, after posting no more than three in any other tournament this year.
Hazeltine's signature lakeside hole dragged her down, too, with a double bogey in the first and fourth rounds on the 16th. Her second shot from the right edge of the fairway splashed in the water for a costly penalty stroke, and she two-putted the par-4 hole.
With the Evian Championship and Women's British Open next month, Korda can still add a grand slam to what has been a superb season despite some setbacks this week in Minnesota.
“I was just thinking about the way that I played," Korda said, "not like the realistic big picture that everyone is talking about.”
