Ten strokes behind—and yet Ru still wins the Women's PGA Championship

On Sunday, 25-year-old South Korean Haeran Ryu won the 2026 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, etching her name into the annals of women's golf as one of the most remarkable comeback stories. With a final round of 70 strokes (-2) and a total score of 275 strokes (-13), she finished two strokes ahead of her compatriot Ina Yoon. The $13 million prize purse—the largest in the history of women’s golf—reflects the tournament’s growing importance. Ryu’s share of the prize money: $1.95 million.

Yet nothing had pointed to this triumph. After the opening round, Ryu was in 70th place with a score of 73—a full ten strokes behind the then-leader, Ina Yoon, who had tied the course record for 18 holes with a historic 63 (-9). It was the largest deficit after the first round ever overcome in the history of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. And it was only the second time in more than 60 years that a player had pulled off such a comeback in a major: Carol Mann had achieved this feat in 1964 at the Women’s Western Open.

Click here for the final leaderboard of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

A Final Day Like a Thriller

It was clear even before the first tee shot that the final day would be dramatic—albeit for a different reason. A severe thunderstorm over the Twin Cities region forced organizers to delay the start by three hours and thirty minutes. More than 25 millimeters of rain had softened the greens, and gusts of up to 50 kilometers per hour made play even more difficult. When the players finally took to the course, a front nine awaited them that would turn the leaderboards upside down several times.

Four different players held the sole lead at various points during the first nine holes—a testament to how wide open the final round was. Ryu herself got off to the worst possible start in the decisive round with Bogey on holes 1, 4, and 5. At one point, Dutch player Dewi Weber took the lead with an Eagle on the par-5 seventh hole, before Henderson steadily moved up the leaderboard. It was a nerve-wracking first nine for everyone involved.

The turning point came on the ninth hole. Ryu sank a 14-foot Putt from the fringe—Henderson responded from 15 feet. Both went into the back nine tied. On the 10th hole, Ryu sank another putt from 14 feet; Henderson countered immediately from 13 feet. But Ryu retained the lead. What followed was simply masterful ball-striking: The South Korean played the final 13 holes bogey-free at four under Par. On the 16th hole—where Nelly Korda had carded a double bogey in both Round 1 and Round 4—Ryu secured Par with a seven-foot putt. The victory was now hers for the taking.

“It feels like a dream come true, because I’ve tried a few times to become a major champion—and didn’t make it. Today I did it, and I’m just so happy,” Ryu said during the award ceremony on the 18th green.

Learn all about the five women’s majors in golf here.

Video highlights of the Women’s PGA Championship

Profile of the Winner: Strength Through Confidence

Haeran Ryu has been on the LPGA Tour since 2023—and has won at least once in each of her four seasons so far. With her triumph in Chaska, she joins an extremely exclusive club: since 1990, only six other players have achieved this feat, including Karrie Webb, Yani Tseng, and Jin Young Ko. She is also South Korea’s 21st member of the circle of major champions.

The fact that she even had a chance in Chaska is due in no small part to a tactical decision she made after the opening round: Ryu switched her Putter. And she took her coach’s advice to heart—advice that, in its simplicity, says a lot about her character. “You don’t have any other problem—trust your shot, trust your caddie, and trust yourself on the course,” she quoted him during the award ceremony.

She did just that in spectacular fashion: Round 2 (64, -8) and Round 3 (68, -4) were the best rounds of the entire field on their respective days—the last time anyone had achieved that in the same tournament was Mickey Wright in 1966. Her numbers on the final day underscore Ryu’s class: she hit 10 of 14 Fairways and reached 13 of 18 greens in regulation. Over the course of the tournament, she led the field in Strokes Gained Total, Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green, and greens-in-regulation percentage (81.94 percent).

The tournament was also her first after a six-week break, which she took following a minor surgery in South Korea. If anything, her rust was only noticeable on the first few holes of the final round.

Ina Yoon: From a Record-Breaking Start to a Learning Year

Ina Yoon had opened this tournament with a bang. Her 63 in Round 1 tied the 18-hole course record at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship—set by greats like Patty Sheehan, Meg Mallon, and Nelly Korda. After 36 holes, the 23-year-old led at -12, also a tournament record. Then came Round 3: a 75 (+3) knocked her off the top spot—and Ryu took the lead.

In the final round, Yoon fought her way back, birdieing the last hole to secure sole second place at -11. It was her best finish to date on the LPGA Tour —and she achieved it in her very first appearance in the final group on the final day of an LPGA tournament. “A little disappointed yesterday and today, but I think I did a good job under pressure—and that’s part of golf. I think this will be a really big lesson for the future,” said Yoon.

Dewi Weber & Brooke Henderson: Two Special Stories

From the field of contenders, Dewi Weber (Netherlands) and Brooke Henderson (Canada) ultimately stood out, both securing a tie for third place at -10 (278).

Dewi Weber’s week deserves special mention. The 30-year-old, ranked 210th in the world heading into the tournament, briefly held the sole lead in the final round—thanks to an Eagle on the par-5 seventh hole from eight feet. Her tie for third place is not only the best result of her career, but also the best finish ever by a Dutch player in a major tournament, among both men and women. Weber attributed the particular composure with which she approached this tournament to a profound shift in her perspective—not least because of her recently announced pregnancy: she and her wife are expecting their first child in December. Weber commented on the financial implications of her result with dry humor during the press conference: “My wife and I joke that I’d have to win this tournament three times to be able to afford a house in the city where we live.”

Brooke Henderson, on the other hand, had an emotionally charged week. On Thursday morning—right in the middle of the first round—her sister and longtime caddie, Brittany, gave birth to her first child: a girl named Sahalee, after the course where Brooke Henderson won her first major title in 2016. This news stayed with Henderson throughout the entire week. “Sometimes I was in a tough spot and thought: It’s okay. Life is good,” the Canadian said during the press conference. Her tie for third place marks her ninth top-5 finish in major tournaments—a testament to her consistent world-class play.

Nelly Korda: When the Putter Derails the Dream

The narrative center of gravity in the week leading up to the tournament was undoubtedly Nelly Korda. After victories at the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open, the world No. 1 was on the hunt for her third consecutive major win in a single season—a feat that only two players have ever achieved on the LPGA Tour. In the end, she finished tied for eighth at -6 with a final-round 73.

The story of her week is quickly told: Korda hit the ball as well as she had in most of her previous events, but she gave away strokes on the greens. Five three-putts in a week—in no other tournament this season had she had more than three. Add to that two double bogeys on the same hole: the par-4 16th, once costlyly penalized by a water hazard. Of all holes, it was this very one where Ryu confidently made the decisive par save.

Yet Korda was by no means out of contention. After three consecutive Birdies on holes 7, 8, and 10 of the final round, she was just three strokes behind the lead. But a Bogey on the 12th hole put a definitive end to her comeback. After the tournament, the American showed little inclination to dwell on the historic milestone she had missed. “You guys made such a big deal out of it. I hadn’t even thought about it. I was just disappointed with how I played this week—not really that I fell just short,” Korda said after the tournament.

Despite the disappointment, Korda has finished in the top 10 in all nine official stroke-play events this season—the longest such streak to start a season since Karrie Webb, who began 1999 with 13 consecutive top-10 finishes. And the calendar year isn’t over yet: The Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s British Open offer her the next chance to make major history.

Context: A Tournament for the History Books

The 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is likely to be remembered for several reasons. First, as the tournament that saw the greatest comeback in the event’s history. Second, as by far the highest-prized women’s major of all time—the $13 million prize purse surpasses anything the sport has ever seen.

The field’s scoring average was 73.067 (+1.067)—the third-best mark in the last 25 years at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a testament to the fact that Hazeltine National remained a challenging course despite soggy greens. In 2019, the last time the tournament was held here, the average was 74.230.

Outlook: The women’s golf summer continues

The LPGA Tour has two more majors on the schedule in the coming weeks. At the Amundi Evian Championship in France and the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham, Nelly Korda will have further opportunities to enhance her season’s record to historic proportions—while also earning the points needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour has two new faces in Ina Yoon and Dewi Weber, who will head into the season with renewed confidence after Chaska. And Haeran Ryu can now boast a title she wasn’t about to let slip away: major champion. “It’s great. Major champion Haeran Ryu—great,” she said at the awards ceremony, laughing. “I’m so happy to have the major title. And at the next tournament, they’ll introduce me as major champion Haeran Ryu. That’s incredible for me.”