Haeran Ryu won her first LPGA major at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, rallying from 10 shots back after Round 1 to make history.
Haeran Ryu ripped up the script at Hazeltine National Golf Club and walked away with one of the wildest major comebacks the LPGA has ever seen.
The 25-year-old South Korean closed with a 2-under 70 on Sunday in Chaska, Minnesota, finishing at 13-under 275 to beat Yoon Ina by two shots.
With the victory, Ryu captured her first career LPGA major title and earned a massive $1.95 million payday.
This one was bigger than a trophy. It was a breakthrough.
Ryu entered the final round with a one-shot lead at 11-under, but closing had been the missing piece in her major resume.
She had been in this position before, holding at least a share of a 54-hole major lead at both the 2024 and 2025 Chevron Championship. Both times, she faded from the top spot, finishing fifth and tied for sixth.
Not this time.
At Hazeltine, Ryu looked calmer, tougher and more ready for the moment.
She protected the lead, absorbed the pressure and became the first LPGA player to win a major after trailing by 10 or more shots following the opening round.
The comeback was even more dramatic because Yoon Ina had opened the tournament in full attack mode, putting Ryu in a huge early hole.
But over the next three rounds, Ryu slowly turned the championship into a fight she could control.
The win also restored South Korea’s place on the LPGA major stage. Ryu became the first South Korean major winner since Amy Yang won this same championship two years earlier.
Ryu, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year, now owns four LPGA Tour victories with one in each of her first four seasons. She also joins Lee Mi-hyang and Kim Hyo-joo as South Korean winners on tour in 2026.
For Ryu, Hazeltine wasn’t just a breakthrough.
It was the day she stopped chasing major history and started making it.
Join Our Roundtable Community For Free!
Share your takes, connect with our Roundtable writers, and talk sports with fellow fans. Download the free Roundtable App today and stay closer to the conversation.
