Haeran Ryu wins the Women's PGA
Championship for her first major title
[June 29, 2026]
By DAVE CAMPBELL
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — Haeran Ryu recovered from a rough start to
secure her first career major title, winning the Women's PGA
Championship by two strokes over Ina Yoon on a windy Sunday at
Hazeltine National Golf Club.
Ryu shot a 2-under 70 to finish at 13-under 275 and become the sixth
South Korean to win the event over the last 12 editions, flashing a
big smile after sinking her last putt as friends ran out to douse
her in celebration.
The 2023 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year was also the first major
champion in at least the last 60 years to rally from a 10-plus-shot
deficit after the first round. Ryu opened Thursday with a 73 in a
tie for 70th place, as Yoon shot a tournament-record 63.
Playing her first event in six weeks, Ryu shook off whatever rust
she showed and heeded some keen advice from her coach about moving
forward.
“You don’t have another problem so just trust your shot and trust
your caddie and trust yourself on the golf course,” Ryu said during
the trophy ceremony on the 18th green.
Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber tied for third at 10 under. Three
Americans — Allisen Corpuz, Auston Kim and Alison Lee — tied for
fifth place, six strokes behind Ryu.
“Haeran played unbelievable today,” Yoon said. “Brooke, I like to
play her, play with her all the time. She’s such a nice girl. I
learned a lot today, this week.”
LPGA Tour leader Nelly Korda wrapped up a frustrating weekend on the
greens with a 73 to finish in a four-way tie for eighth, failing to
become the third player to win the first three majors of the season.
The course was closed for most of the morning while a thunderstorm
moved through the Twin Cities metro area, dropping more than an inch
of rain and pushing all of the tee times back by 3 1/2 hours while
players tried to stay focused and loose. That left the greens extra
soft and the air especially gusty, making many of Hazeltine’s
notoriously long fairways even trickier.
Ryu was five strokes behind Yoon in a four-way tie for second after
two rounds and surged to the top on Saturday to take a one-shot lead
over Henderson, the third time she’s been ahead or tied for the lead
entering the final round of a major.
The 25-year-old Ryu bogeyed three of her first five holes before
settling in and flexing her ball-striking muscle on a particularly
tough afternoon for putting.
[to top of second column] |
Haeran Ryu, of South Korea, celebrates on the 18th green after
winning the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine
National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP
Photo/Matt York)
Ranking in the top three on the tour in approach,
tee to green, and greens in regulation, Ryu went 4 under over the
final 12 holes to separate from the pack in a far more relaxing
finish than she was on track for. Four different players held a solo
lead over the front nine.
Weber became only the fourth women’s player from the Netherlands to
finish in the top 20 at a major tournament, with Anne van Dam the
most recent at the 2024 British Women’s Open. Only one player on the
men’s side has ever done so.
The 23-year-old Yoon had her best finish on the LPGA Tour, deftly
rebounding from a 75 on Saturday and a double bogey on the third
hole on Sunday.
“Little disappointed yesterday and today, but I think I did pretty
good job being under pressure and it’s just part of golf,” Yoon
said. “I think it’s going to be a really big lesson in the big
picture.”
Korda turns her focus to the next two majors
Korda made the turn only three shots back and birdied the 10th hole,
but her short game fell short down the stretch in similar fashion to
the third round. She three-putted five different times at Hazeltine,
after posting no more than three in any other tournament this year.
Hazeltine's signature lakeside hole dragged her down, too, with a
double bogey in the first and fourth rounds on the 16th. Her second
shot from the right edge of the fairway splashed in the water for a
costly penalty stroke, and she two-putted the par-4 hole.
With the Evian Championship and Women's British Open next month,
Korda can still add a grand slam to what has been a superb season
despite some setbacks this week in Minnesota.
“I was just thinking about the way that I played," Korda said, "not
like the realistic big picture that everyone is talking about.”
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