Haeran Ryu of South Korea won her first major championship by shooting a final-round 70, concluding with six straight pars to clinch victory Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Chaska, Minn.
Ryu entered the day with a one-shot cushion and weathered a tumultuous front nine — three bogeys, three birdies — before making a pair of 14-foot birdie putts at Nos. 10 and 12 to get the separation she needed.
Ryu finished her four days at Hazeltine National Golf Club at 13-under 275. Her countrywoman, Ina Yoon, the leader after the first and second rounds, came in second at 11 under after shooting 70 Sunday. Canadian Brooke M. Henderson, who was on Ryu’s tail for much of the day, settled for an even-par 72 and tied for third at 10 under with Dewi Weber of the Netherlands (70).
“Feels like dreams come true right now because I tried the couple times on the major champion but I don’t get it,” Ryu said at the trophy presentation. “Today I did it, so I’m so happy right now.”
The result also snaps World No. 1 Nelly Korda’s winning streak at the majors. Korda came to Minnesota having won the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open to start 2026; she was denied the chance to become the third woman in history to win the first three majors of a given season.
Korda was in the mix entering Sunday but shot a 1-over 73, her worst score of the week, and finished tied for eighth at 6 under.
“You guys made that such a big thing. I didn’t think about that, no,” Korda said of a potential Grand Slam pursuit. “Like not — I was just kind of disappointed in the way that I played this week, not that I came up short really. I was just thinking about the way that I played, not like the realistic big picture that everyone is talking about.”
Ryu, 25, hadn’t previously finished better than fifth at a major. She had three LPGA Tour victories to her name, one in each of the last three years.
She was 10 strokes behind Yoon after the first round of the championship. She said her coach gave her some short words of wisdom.
“He tell me, like, just trust yourself and that’s it,” Ryu said. “You don’t have another problem so just trust your shot and trust your caddie and trust your(self) on the golf course. So that works this week.”
Henderson closed the gap to one shot behind Ryu with a birdie at No. 9 and matched her birdie at No. 10 to go to 11 under, while Ryu was at minus-12. However, Henderson couldn’t convert another birdie chance and bogeyed the par-4 14th, marking a late setback.
A two-time major champion, this was Henderson’s best finish at a major since tying for third at the 2024 Chevron.
“I’m really happy. I feel like I’m back in better form,” Henderson said. “I feel like I’m close to being really good again, which is really exciting.
“So happy to get a top-3 in a major. Makes the whole season feel a little bit better, and also feel like gives me a lot of confidence, momentum going into the rest of the year, which my next two events are also majors. Hopefully I can carry that forward.”
Yoon raced ahead of the pack Thursday by firing a 9-under 63 and held a five-stroke lead after 36 holes, but her Saturday round of 75 opened the tournament back up for her competitors. She birdied her first two holes Sunday to show some fight, but those were erased by a double bogey at the par-5 third and a bogey at No. 5.
It was still an impressive finish for Yoon, 23, who made the LPGA Tour last year. She tied for fourth at the Chevron, making this her second top-five at a major in 2026.
“It’s hard to describe,” Yoon said. “Grateful to, you know, have a really valuable experience that I have today. Little disappointed yesterday and today, but I think I did pretty good job being under pressure and it’s just part of golf. I think it’s going to be really big lesson in the big picture.”
–Field Level Media
