Ryu Hae-ran takes maiden LPGA title at Walmart NW Arkansas

Ryu Hae-ran poses with the LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship trophy after winning the event at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Ryu Hae-ran won her first-ever LPGA title at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday after carding a 19-under-par, 194, with a wire-to-wire run.

The Walmart Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas was a 54-hole stroke play event and Ryu shone from the first round.

The 22-year-old made a bogey free seven-under-par, 64 — Pinnacle Country Club was a par-71 course — on the first day with seven birdies and managed exactly the same the following day.

She then made two bogeys on the last day, but still finished the third round with a five-under-par, 66, thanks to five birdies and one eagle to win her first-ever LPGA trophy.

“To be honest, I had some doubts whether I can win this year, but I trusted in my shots and kept playing, and I think that led to a good result,” Ryu said after the event. “In Korea it's pretty early morning. I know when I was playing it was like even earlier in the morning, but with my parents and the fan clubs I think they were cheering me on and supporting me.

“I think thanks to them I was able to get it done today and this week.”

Having joined the LPGA in 2023 after winning the 2022 LPGA Q-Series, her previous best finish of the 2023 season was a third-place at the Mizuho Americas Open in June.

Ryu not only claimed the prize of $345,000 with the victory, but also became the seventh Korean golfer to win the Walmart Championship.

Since the introduction of the tournament in 2007, seven Korean golfers have claimed the title, including Park Sung-hyun in 2019 and Na Yeon-choi in 2015.

No Korean golfer has defended the title yet.

Sunday’s title was also Ryu’s first winning any event since the KLPGA Nexen Saint Nine Masters in 2022. She competed on the KLPGA from 2019 through 2022 and secured five titles on the tour, including a back-to-back trophy at the Jeju Samdasoo Masters in 2019 and 2020.

Linnea Strom of Sweden finished as a runner-up at the Walmart Championship, while Korean golfers Kim Sei-young and Jenny Shin both tied for third.

With Sunday’s victory, Ryu also became the second Korean golfer to win an LPGA title this season after Ko Jin-young. Ko took two titles, the HSBC Women’s World Championship and Cognizant Founders Cup.

Ko, ranked at No. 3 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, skipped the Walmart Championship due to a wrist injury.

Second highest ranked Korean golfer No. 6 Kim Hyo-joo competed in the event, but she managed an unimpressive joint 48th finish with a six-under-par, 207.

The LPGA tour will continue with the Ascendant LPGA that is set to tee off at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas on Thursday.

The tour will make an Asian Swing the following week and visit Korea on Oct. 19, where the BMW Ladies Championship takes place in Paju, Gyeonggi.

A little over one month of the tour schedule remains with the CME Group Tour Championship being the last official tournament of the season.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]