Haeran Ryu made a big record for Evian and he didn't know it until the end of the round
Nelly Korda opened the LPGA season on fire. She ran away with the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship, then fulfilled a lifelong dream by winning the US Women's Open at Riviera Country Club.
Korda came to the KPMG Women's PGA Championship looking to complete the third leg of the “Nelly Slam” and, in the process, punch her ticket to the LPGA Hall of Fame. Korda competed with Hazeltine, but a cold putter let him down as Haeran Ryu won his first major title.
Two weeks after winning the Korda major tournament, Ryu arrived in France at the Evian Championship, the fourth major player this year, with an easy goal in his first major match after getting the monkey off his back.
“When we started this competition [at] press conference I said my intention is to just play on the weekend; that's it,” said Ryu, laughing, on Saturday.
Although Korda missed out on a win at the Evian Resort Golf Club, Ryu did more than he initially expected. She shot under two through the first two rounds to move into Saturday's final group along with 36-hole leader Lottie Woad and Aki Iwai.
Then, on Saturday, Ryu quickly went from being in the mix with another big one to grabbing it by the throat and making major championship history in the process.
Ryu birdied two of the first five holes and then went out for an eagle on the par-4 sixth to take the lead. He birdied seven and nine to turn in a six-under 29, then took 10. As Ryu extended his lead on the back nine, little did he know that he was running into something that had never been done before. After three straight pars from 11-13, Ryu made bogeys on 14, 15, and 17, prompting an uproar from Evian that 59 was playing on the par-5 18th. Ryu split the fairway with his tee shot and found the green. But her 30-foot eagle putt fell just short, leaving her to settle for birdie and post a third-round 11-under 60, the lowest major championship round in women's golf history.
It was only when Ryu was tallying up his score after covering the bird that he realized what he had done.
“I don't know,” Ryu said with a smile in his post-record interview. “I don't know because, I didn't know [it’s] episode 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 caddy, and, 'Oh, my God, 11-under par.' It was so amazing. My friend says, 'Yes.' Yes, I am very happy right now.”
According to golf statistician Justin Ray, Ryu scored 9.40 shots on the field Saturday, building a three-shot lead over Iwai heading into Sunday. That's the second most Strokes Gained in a major round this season, trailing only Ina Yoon's 10.17 in the opening round of the KPMG.
Most strokes gained total in one round, @LPGA majors this season
Ina Yoon, KPMG PGA Rd 1, +10.17
Haeran Ryu, Evian Rd 3, +9.40
Haeran Ryu, KPMG PGA Rd 2, +9.033 major rounds this season 9+ strokes better than field average. Ryu has 2 of them.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 11, 2026
The 25-year-old Ryu has tried to break into the big stage for years. After finishing at KPMG, he feels more relaxed as he looks to go back on Sunday.
“[It’s] it's a wonderful, wonderful dream,” Ryu said of being the grandmaster. “So I want that to come true, but we have one more day, and Aki is a good player and everyone is very good, [I’m] I just behaved well.”
Two weeks ago, Nelly Korda had two majors and seemed poised to strengthen her grip on women's golf as the LPGA's big summer swing begins. Two weeks later, Ryu is on the verge of matching Korda's 2026 grand total and threatening to honor him with Player of the Year honors.
But that's the conversation Sunday after Haeran Ryu held off Iwai and the rest of the field — after he went from a hopeful to a two-time major champion.
Saturday was all about history. What it means is the discussion after the final 18 holes are in the books.
“It was an amazing day,” Ryu said. “But we have one more day.”
