She was in the lead on Thursday and never looked back in the desert. South Korean star Haeran Ryu shot all four of her rounds in the 60s at the Black Desert Championship to secure her third victory on the LPGA Tour.
She shot 26-under on the tournament and won by five strokes in the first tournament that has been played in Utah since 1964. It was an impressive performance all around for the 24-year-old from Seoul.
Her final round was bogey-free and showed amazing poise throughout the entire tournament. Her birdie on the par-3 15th helped put her up four strokes against Ruoning Yin. Yin was only three strokes behind Ryu, but the birdie helped Ryu keep her distance the rest of the round to secure victory.
This will mark the third straight year on tour that Ryu has won a tournament. In 2023, she was victorious at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Last year, she captured the FM Championship in September.
In addition to Yin, notable players who rounded out the top 25 on the weekend was Australian Stephanie Kyriacou (T6) and French player Celine Boutier, who finished in a tie for 12th.
Ryu vaults into third on the money list, sixth in the Race CME Globe Points
After the victory, Ryu currently ranks in 12th place for sand save percentage on tour with a 60.87% average while also notching four eagles this season, putting her in seventh place.
She spoke with reporters after her victory in Utah, per the LPGA official websit.
"It was so incredible day again because I think I have a new record for my golf because the best score on the final round, end score was 23, so today is 26, so it's amazing," said Ryu. "Then I make some eagles for the three days in a row, so that's really, really good again. I think this week, it's so happy."
Of her six cuts made, she has five additional top 25s under her belt including a tie for 6th at the season's first major, the Chevron Championship. Now with more majors on the horizon Ryu could be eyeing her first her top prize.
If she continues to play like she did this past Sunday, it will come as no surprise to see her holding a trophy at one the remaining majors this year. The US Women's Open is only a few weeks away, with Ryu and the rest of the field set to tee off for the next major on May 29.