Haeran Ryu Wins Women's PGA by 2 Shots for First Major, Claims $1.95 Million

Q: How did Haeran Ryu engineer one of the greatest comebacks in major championship history?

Haeran Ryu produced the comeback by erasing a 10-shot first-round deficit, then surviving a shaky final day with elite ball-striking and timely birdies. After opening with a 73, Ryu was tied for 70th and 10 behind leader Ina Yoon, matching the largest 18-hole comeback ever by an LPGA major winner. Her win probability was reported at just 0.2%, and she was close to missing the cut. The turnaround began when she changed putters, a move that helped stabilize her scoring after a rusty start in her first event back from a six-week break following minor surgery in South Korea. She then surged through the middle rounds. A second-round 64 moved her into contention, and a third-round 68, highlighted by a 28-foot eagle putt at the seventh, gave her the outright lead. Across those two rounds, she transformed the championship from a survival job into a title chase. The decisive work came Sunday at Hazeltine in difficult conditions after a 3 1/2-hour weather delay. Ryu lost her one-shot overnight lead with three bogeys in the first five holes, but she steadied herself and played the final 12 holes in four under par. She finished with a two-under 70, making five birdies in the round and a key par save on the 16th, to close at 13-under and win by two. Over the final three rounds, Ryu played 14-under par, six shots better than anyone else in the field, turning one of the worst starts by a major champion into her first major title.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 28

Haeran Ryu closed at 13-under to win the Women's PGA Championship by two shots at Hazeltine, securing the 25-year-old South Korean's first major after entering Sunday with a one-shot lead.
Three bogeys in her first five holes briefly cost Ryu the lead, but five birdies in a two-under final round restored control after a weather delay of three and a half hours.
Ina Yoon rallied to finish second at 11-under, while Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber shared third at 10-under; Weber's result was her best finish in a major.
Ryu's victory completed a sharp turnaround from a first-round tie for 70th, 10 shots back, and earned the $1.95 million top prize from a record $13 million purse in women's golf.
Nelly Korda, seeking a third straight major title, started four shots behind but finished tied for eighth at six-under.