After heartbreak last week at The Chevron Championship, Korean star Haeran Ryu won her third LPGA Tour event at The Black Desert Championship.
Ryu has led coming into every round this week, but she still used the gas pedal Sunday in Utah. Ryu made four birdies on her first 11 holes, but the statement was really sent on the par 5 13, where a couple gorgeous shots and a fantastic putt resulted in an eagle, giving her a four-stroke lead with five holes to play.
Ryu wasn’t done there, making birdies on 15 and 18 to cruise to a five-stroke victory. Her incredible ball striking made it look easy all week, across four rounds she missed just five fairways and nine greens. In the final round, she didn’t miss a single fairway, going 14/14. Her putter responded well also, as she hit a few putts of decent length on Sunday. When Ryu putts well, she may be in the discussion for best player in the world.
Second-place finisher Esther Henseleit played well on Sunday, just not well enough to close the gap on Ryu. Henseleit made five birdies on the front nine, giving her a nice run, but went a bit cold on the back, making eight pars in a row until her birdie on 18. By that time, it was too late. She finished at -21, five strokes behind Ryu.
This was Ryu’s third win of her career, she has had one in each of her seasons on tour. For a player who has relatively had some trouble closing in her short time on the tour, this performance on Sunday was wildly impressive. She is the only player in the world to win in each of the last three seasons on the LPGA Tour. With this win, she will move into the top 10 of the Rolex Rankings.
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