Sophomore Ryu Hae-ran has found the LPGA winner’s circle for the second time in her career with a playoff victory.
Ryu captured the inaugural FM Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, on Sunday (local time), after beating fellow South Korean Ko Jin-young on the first hole of the sudden-death playoff with a par. Ryu took home US$570,000, the biggest prize money of her career.
In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hae-ran of South Korea holds the champion’s trophy after winning the FM Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Yonhap)
Ryu’s maiden victory had come last October at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
This was Ryu’s ninth top-10 finish in her 19th start this year.
Ryu, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year, overcame a four-shot deficit at the start of the final round to set up the playoff by shooting a 64, with nine birdies against one bogey.
She became only the second South Korean player to win on the LPGA Tour this year, joining Amy Yang, the winner of th
e KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June.
Ko, former world No. 1, was chasing her 16th career title, but the overnight leader fell into the playoff after missing a birdie putt on the par-5 18th and signing for a 68 in the final round. She bogeyed the 18th in the playoff after missing the green with her third shot.
In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hae-ran of South Korea watches her shot from the second tee during the final round of the FM Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Yonhap)
Ryu and Ko finished regulation at 15-under 273 but took different routes to get there in the weather-interrupted final round.
Ryu started the day four back of Ko. Ryu had led the tournament by six strokes after 36 holes at 13-under, following a blistering round of 62 but followed that up with a 78 that appeared to push her out of contention. Ko, meanwhile, shot back-to-back 67s on Friday and Saturday to put herself in position for her first win since May 2023.
But Ryu jumped back into the mix b
y starting her final round with four consecutive birdies. Playing two groups ahead of Ko, Ryu picked up two more birdies on the front nine to make the turn at 13-under.
Ko also went four-under through her first four holes but did so with eagles on the par-5 second and par-4 fourth. Ko had a bogey on the fifth and a birdie on the seventh to finish the front nine at 15-under, still atop the leaderboard.
In this Getty Images photo, Ryu Hae-ran of South Korea hits a shot on the 15th hole during the final round of the FM Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, on Sept. 1, 2024. (Yonhap)
Then Ryu grabbed the lead with birdies on the 10th and 12th, while Ko slipped with a bogey on the 10th.
Ryu picked up her ninth birdie of the round on the 15th to reach 16-under but gave back a shot with a bogey on the very next hole.
That allowed Ko to pull into a tie with Ryu with a long birdie putt on the 14th.
Play was suspended due to inclement weather at 3:40 p.m., with Ko’s ball in the rough behind the 15t
h green and Ryu having reached the green on the 17th with her second shot. Both made pars after the final round resumed a little over two hours later.
Ryu set up a birdie opportunity on the par-5 18th but missed the relatively short putt as rain picked up.
That gave Ko a bit of an opening to finish the job in regulation, but the veteran missed her own birdie attempt on the 18th hole.
Ryu and Ko went back to the 18th for the playoff, and both played it safe on the 530-yard hole.
After Ryu found the green with her third shot from 120 yards out, Ko, who was closer to the pin, pulled hers off the green. Ko’s ball bounced off the putting surface and settled in the area behind the green.
Ko’s chip went well past the hole, and she missed the par putt coming back. That meant Ryu just needed two putts from about 15 feet away, and she did just that to clinch her first LPGA win since October 2023.
Source: Yonhap News Agency