​One day after Haeran Ryu posted a record-breaking 11-under 60 to claim the lowest round in major championship history, she delivered when it mattered most at the Amundi Evian, sealing the victory with clutch play on the 18th and again on the first playoff hole. After going nearly the entire final round without a birdie, Ryu finally converted her first birdie on the par-5 18th in regulation, and she repeated the feat on the opening playoff hole to edge a determined Brooke Henderson who had surged with relentless late-round fireworks. “I’m so happy, I can’t believe it right now,” Ryu exclaimed, champagne foam still on her lips. This win marked the first time in LPGA history that two different players have won multiple majors in the same season, following world No. 1 Nelly Korda’s back-to-back majors earlier in the year.
The Amundi Evian is never short on drama, and Henderson provided a history-making moment of her own. She recorded her third eagle of the day—the LPGA’s single-day record—on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. The Canadian’s 8-foot eagle putt came just after Ryu had drained a 15-foot birdie, pushing her to 19 under and into rarefied air. Aki Iwai of Japan had another strong showing, finishing solo third with a 12-foot birdie attempt that narrowly missed on the final hole, tears streaming as she reflected on a long, hard-fought battle and her determination not to give up.
Ryu had led by as many as five strokes on Sunday, but as her putter cooled, Henderson surged with a wave of major-caliber momentum. The Canadian rattled off an eagle and an ace on Nos. 7 and 8 to slice her deficit to a single stroke as Ryu stumbled with a bogey. Iwai had also pressed the issue, opening with a bogey on the first hole and a double on the third before gathering herself to put herself in the title conversation. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 gave Iwai a share of the lead at 18 under, and after Henderson birdied the par-3 16th, the trio stood tied at the summit.
A pivotal moment came on the 17th when Henderson three-putted, slipping another stroke back and leaving her one behind Iwai and Ryu with the 461-yard par-5 remaining. Both Iwai and Ryu found the fairway with their tee shots but left themselves with layups, while Henderson reached the green in two from 172 yards, setting up a dramatic eagle attempt that echoed her famous finish from Evian in 2022.
In the playoff’s opening hole, the narrative flipped. Henderson’s tee shot went left, delivering an advantage to Ryu, who stood with a 167-yard approach from the fairway. Alison Whitaker, the on-course reporter, captured the moment as a David-and-Goliath scenario with a 94-yard separation between the two contenders. Henderson chose to lay up to 117 yards, then mishit her 48-degree wedge, ending up long of the green. Despite her week of on-the-knife-edge chip-ins, she couldn’t conjure the closing magic this time. Ryu two-putted for birdie, calmly sinking a testy putt from just inside three feet to seal the title and leave Henderson to wonder what could have been.
Beth Ann Nichols, a senior writer for Golfweek who covers the LPGA circuit and women’s golf at large, notes that this article originally appeared on Golfweek, reflecting on Haeran Ryu’s remarkable feat and the evolving landscape of women’s golf this season. The event’s dramatic finish at Evian-resort course on July 11, 2026, left fans savoring a new chapter in major championship history.