Washington (United States) (AFP) – South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran marched to her first major title on Sunday, firing five birdies in a two-under par 70 final round to win the Women’s PGA Championship by two strokes. Ryu, who trailed by 10 after the opening round, was unflappable at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, where world number one Nelly Korda’s bid for a third straight major title ended with a one-over par final round that left her tied for eighth.
“It feels like a dream come true,” said Ryu, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year who finished at 13-under par 275 for a two-stroke triumph over compatriot Yoon Ina. Yoon birdied the 72nd hole to cap a two-under 70 and seize solo second place, one stroke ahead of Canadian Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber of The Netherlands. Henderson carded an even-par 72 while Weber signed for a 70.
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Ryu, playing her first tournament since taking more than a month off for a minor surgery back home in South Korea, became just the second woman in major championship history to come back from a 10-shot deficit after 18 holes to win. Carol Mann achieved the feat at the 1964 Women’s Western Open.
The 25-year-old changed putters after the first round and heeded the advice of her coach who, she said, told her “just trust yourself on the golf course.” She rebounded with an eight-under second round and took a one-shot lead into Sunday. Ryu emerged from a chaotic front nine with a one-stroke lead and didn’t falter, rolling in 14-foot birdie putts at the 10th and 12th and draining a key seven-foot par putt at 16 in a composed performance that was plenty to keep her pursuers at bay.
The early going had seen multiple lead changes as players wrestled with an imposing course that had absorbed more than an inch of rain from storms that delayed the start of play for three and a half hours. Yoon opened with back-to-back birdies to seize the lead before a double bogey at the par-five third. Ryu, who opened with a bogey, found herself back in front after a birdie at the third, where she stuck her third shot a foot from the pin.
But Ryu bogeyed the fourth and fifth and Henderson, who opened with five straight pars, was rewarded for her steadiness with a one-stroke lead. It didn’t last as the Canadian bogeyed the sixth, and Weber briefly seized the solo lead with an eight-foot eagle at the par-five seventh before giving a stroke back with a three-putt bogey at eight. Ryu and Henderson both birdied the ninth, Ryu rolling in a 14-foot putt from the fringe and Henderson sinking a 15-footer.
That sent the final group into the back nine with Ryu atop the leaderboard on 11-under, one stroke ahead of Henderson and two ahead of Yoon with Korda in hot pursuit. The US star got off to an inauspicious start with a three-putt bogey at the first. After a birdie at the second, Korda bogeyed the fourth and fifth, but she rolled in birdie putts of six and four feet at the seventh and eighth and after a four-foot birdie at the 10th was just three shots off the lead and in position to factor in a back-nine battle.
But Korda faltered again with a bogey at 12 and after a birdie at 15 dropped back again with a double bogey at 16. Korda said she was more frustrated with her play than she was with missing out on becoming just the third LPGA player to win the first three majors of a season. “I didn’t think about that,” she said. “I was just kind of disappointed in the way that I played this week, not that I came up short.”
Ryu collected $1.95 million from a record women’s golf purse of $13 million, but that wasn’t top of mind. “I’m so happy I got the major title,” she said. “Now next tournament they introduce for me ‘Major champion Hae-ran Ryu.’ It’s amazing for me.”
© 2024 AFP
