Haeran Ryu had never won a major until two weeks ago. Now, she’s won two.
The 25-year-old Korean star has been on an insane stretch of golf. She shot an even-par 71 in regulation Sunday and then birdied the first playoff hole to win the Amundi Evian Championship. Ryu defeated Brooke Henderson, who made an impressive charge from seven shots back by shooting 64 at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France. Each player finished at 19 under.
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With the two major victories, Ryu joins Nelly Korda, who won the season’s first two majors—and it’s the first time in LPGA history that two players have won two majors in a single season. The LPGA’s fifth and last major of the year is the AIG Women’s British Open in two weeks.
Asked to describe the last 13 days, Ryu said: “It feels like a fake cartoon. So much history. Feels unreal. So happy right now.”
Ryu, who now has five LPGA wins, put herself in position to win with a 60 in Saturday’s third round by seemingly making every putt. She had a 30-foot eagle putt for 59 as well but settled for the lowest round ever in a major for a man or woman. The final round was a different story. Ryu was solid off the tee but wasn’t making any important putts. Not until they mattered most, anyway. Ryu didn’t make a birdie until the 18th hole and then the first playoff hole.
“My putting was too bad today,” Ryu said. “I was just thinking ‘Oh, God, please go in the hole, please.’ Every hole, I just prayed. The last hole and the birdie hole there, just thanks to God. Feels like just unreal dream right now.”
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Ryu, who will rise from her No. 7 world ranking heading into the week, won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine on June 29, and with her second title The 13 days is tied for the shortest amount of time between major championship wins since Meg Mallon, who won the U.S. Women’s Open and Mazda LPGA Championship in 1991.
Ryu won $1.4 million of the $9.1 million purse. She becomes just the third Korean player to win two majors in one season, joining Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko. Ryu shot 66-68-60-71 to win at 19 under.
Henderson, trying to win her third major, made a wild run at the title. She had a stretch where she eagled the seventh, aced the eighth and then made eagle on the 18th in regulation to get into the playoff. The 28-year-old Canadian suffered some hiccups, too, including three-putting for bogey at the 17th. She redeemed herself with the eagle at 18, but on 18 again for the playoff, she hit left of the fairway and had to lay up in making a par.
“Yeah, played awesome today, which is really exciting,” Henderson said. “To finish second in a major and third a couple of weeks ago [in the Women’s PGA], definitely game is in a really good spot.
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“Obviously very exciting to get into the playoff. Wish I had played a little bit better, but Haeran has been playing great. Congrats to her.”
Aki Iwai was in tears after her final-round two-under 69. The 24-year-old from Japan, who won last year in her rookie LPGA season, led after a first-round 63 and pulled into a tie for the lead with three holes left. But Iwai could only make pars the rest of the way and finished solo third.
For being so young, Ryu has a long history with the Evian Resort. As a 14-year-old, she played in the Evian Juniors Cup in 2015. She competed for the first time in this major as a 16-year-old amateur in 2018 and missed the cut. She missed the cut last year, too. But there was a fifth-place finish in 2024, which proved she could play well here.
“Had a good memory. This course is so beautiful but always missed the cut,” Ryu said. “Still worked hard and keep dreaming.”
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That dream is a reality.
After Ryu won the major at Hazeltine, she went home to Las Vegas and celebrated by barbecuing with a neighbor. She received a lot of congratulatory texts and flowers. Before she began her news conference on Sunday, she was scrolling through more texts. The LPGA Tour is off for a week, so she’ll have plenty of time to respond.
Korda, the World No. 1, missed the cut at Evian, marking the first time she hasn’t played on a weekend in two years. That left Auston Kim to be the top American finisher with a solo ninth. LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko tied for seventh, and World No. 2 Jeeno Thitiful is still seeking her first major win after tying for 10th.
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