​Nelly Korda began the LPGA season with a burst of momentum, storming to victory at the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship, and then realizing a lifelong dream by winning the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club. Korda carried that energy into the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a goal of completing what fans dubbed the “Nelly Slam” and earning a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame. She battled at Hazeltine, but a cold putter hindered her as Haeran Ryu captured her first major title.
Two weeks after ending Korda’s streak of majors, Ryu arrived in France for the Evian Championship, the season’s fourth major, with a straightforward objective in her first major after finally getting one off her back. “When we started this tournament, at the press conference I said my goal was to just play on the weekend; that’s it,” Ryu said with a laugh on Saturday. While Korda missed the cut at Evian Resort Golf Club, Ryu exceeded her own expectations, shooting eight under through the first two rounds to reach Saturday in the final group alongside 36-hole leader Lottie Woad and Aki Iwai.
On Saturday, Ryu moved from being in the mix at another major to seizing control and carving out a path through history. She birdied two of her first five holes and then holed out for an eagle on the par-4 sixth to seize the lead. She added birdies at seven and nine to turn at six-under 29, then birdied the 10th to extend her advantage. As she stretched her lead on the back nine, she remained unaware that she was on the brink of a historic feat. After three straight pars from 11 through 13, Ryu closed in with birdies at 14, 15, and 17, and the chatter swelled around Evian that a 59 was within reach with the par-5 18th looming. Ryu split the fairway off the tee and found the green, but her 30-foot eagle putt stopped short, leaving a tap-in for birdie to sign for a third-round 11-under 60—the lowest major championship round in women’s golf history.
Only after tallying her score did Ryu grasp what she had accomplished. “I never know,” she said with a smile in her post-round interview when asked about making history. “I didn’t know [it was] par 71 [at Evian]. That’s why I just hit it—I didn’t know my score on the green today. But after the putt, I counted my score with my caddie, and, ‘Oh, my God, it’s 11-under par.’ It was so amazing. My caddie said, ‘Yep.’ I’m so happy right now.”
According to golf statistician Justin Ray, Ryu gained 9.40 strokes on the field on Saturday, building a three-shot lead over Iwai as they headed into Sunday. That performance marked the second-most Strokes Gained in a major round this season, second only to Ina Yoon’s 10.17 in the opening round of the KPMG Women’s Championship.
The 25-year-old Ryu has long sought a breakthrough on golf’s grandest stages. After finally securing a major at the KPMG, she now carries a sense of relief and renewed confidence as she pursues even greater heights in the game she loves.