Korean Ryu Haeran reinforced her status as one of golf’s brightest young stars with an emphatic victory at the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion, carding a flawless 8-under-par 64 on Sunday to claim her third LPGA Tour title by five shots over Germany’s Esther Henseleit and China’s Yin Ruoning.
Heading into the final round at Black Desert Resort with a two-shot advantage over 2024 Maybank Championship winner Yin, with Henseleit a shot further adrift, Ryu carded the low round of the day for a winning total of 26-under-par 262 (63-67-68-64).
Although Henseleit narrowed the gap to one shot at the turn, Ryu pulled away on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle at the par-five 13th for the first wire-to-wire victory of her career. Henseleit’s closing 66 was good enough to tie Yin, who shot 67, for runner-up honours on 21-under-par 267.
“Just an amazing week for me, so I feel really excited now. I just wanted to keep playing my golf and just keep focusing on my swing and my putting,” said Ryu, who broke her 72-hole scoring record by three strokes.
Ryu had switched putters during The Chevron Championship last week, where she held the 54-hole joint lead with eventual winner Mao Saigo of Japan, but fell back with a closing 76.
“I think I’m a little crazy because I switched putter on a Major week, but my feel was so good. I can just put more trust in my putts,” said Ryu.
This is Ryu’s third consecutive season with a win on the LPGA Tour. She captured the inaugural FM Championship title last August, defeating compatriot and former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Ko Jin Young in a playoff.
In 2023, Ryu became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, en route to securing the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award.
Henseleit was upbeat despite missing out on her maiden LPGA Tour victory. “I played great on the front nine, probably holed all the good chances and then just couldn’t really keep it up. In the end, it was a pretty solid day and I gave it everything, so I’m proud of my performance,” said the twotime Ladies European Tour winner.
Yin was also pleased with her overall performance, highlighted by a tournament low 10-under-par 62 in the third round. She was also grouped with Ryu in the final round of the 2024 Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, where the Chinese player triumphed by one shot over Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, with the Korean a stroke further back in third place.
“I think my game is pretty solid. Even this week I played 70 good holes. I made a triple on the first day and then a double on 16 today. Overall, my game is really solid,” said Yin, who was chasing her sixth LPGA Tour title and first since her Maybank Championship victory.
Another Chinese player, Liu Yan , shot a final round 65 to take fourth place on 19-under-par 269, one shot ahead of two-time LPGA winner Rio Takeda of Japan.
The LPGA Tour’s next stop is the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, where Rolex Rankings number one Nelly Korda is the defending champion. – LPGA Tour
