Haeran Ryu was just inches away from being the first player in PGA or LPGA Tour history to shoot 59 in a major at Evian Saturday. Despite leaving her final putt short, she still shot the lowest score in major championship history with an incredible -11 60 to take a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday.
Ryu started well thanks to a birdie after a nice tee shot on the par 3 second, but her round really kicked into gear once she got to the fifth hole. Her shot into the par 3 hit the pin and bounced out somehow, leaving her an easy tap-in birdie. The very next hole she made a shot from the fairway for eagle to really make her move. She added birdies on seven, nine and 10 to get to -7 thru 10.
Her round hit a bit of a bump, if you want to call it that, on the back nine with three consecutive pars on 11-13. A fourth two of the day came on the par 3 14 followed by another birdie on 15 off a fantastic save out of the bunker. After a par on 16, she stuck another iron super tight on 17 and converted for another birdie.
Ryu didn’t need much luck throughout her round, but she got some off the tee on 18, where a ball pulled right bounced off a tree back into the fairway, leaving her very much in range to go for the green in two, which she did and of course hit a brilliant shot. Her eagle putt to shoot 59 ended up less than a foot short and right on line, leaving her within a few inches of a record that would likely stand for a long time.
Ryu and her caddie didn’t even know how close she was to history, as she was caught on camera tallying her scorecard for the first time, with a priceless look of shock on her face.
Ryu hit all 16 greens and needed just 24 putts. Impressively, she went 2/2 out of the sand, which is generally the weakest part of her game.
Ryu is chasing down her second major championship in a row, her fifth win overall on the LPGA Tour. She has spoken about how free she is playing, which is dangerous considering her top-tier talent level.
Overshadowed by Ryu was Aki Iwai, who was phenomenal and has kept pace about as well as possible. Iwai made eight birdies with just two bogeys for her third round on the way to a -6 65. The second-year player is looking for her first major championship and second win overall. Iwai is four strokes clear of major champions Brooke Henderson and Mao Saigo, sitting in a tie for third.
The final round of the Amundi Evian Championship kicks off early morning Sunday.
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