Ryu Hae-ran finishes third at JM Eagle in Los Angeles

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Ryu Hae-ran finishes third at JM Eagle in Los Angeles

Published: 29 Apr. 2024, 11:43

Ryu Hae-ran plays her shot from the eighth tee during the final round of the JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club on Sunday in Los Angeles, California. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran finished third at the LPGA's JM Eagle LA Championship in Los Angeles for her best result of the 2024 season so far, narrowly edging out Ko Jin-young and Im Jin-hee, who shared fourth.

Ryu, the 2023 Rookie of the Year, carded a six-under-par, 278, after ending on a birdie at the 18th hole during the fourth round on Sunday at the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles to take home $247,725.

She was three strokes behind runner-up Maja Stark of Sweden, who carded a nine-under-par, 275, while champion Hannah Green of Australia ended with a 12-under-par, 272, to secure her second straight JM Eagle win.

Ryu, 23, has yet to win a title on the Tour this season. She last won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last October, her first LPGA title. She has so far recorded three top-10 finishes this season, including a fifth-place finish at the Chevron Championship, this year’s first LPGA major.

Ko, the highest-ranked Korean golfer on the LPGA Tour, carded a five-under-par, 279, after a bogey-free Day 4, her best round at the tournament.

She shared the spot with fellow Korean golfer and LPGA rookie Im, who on Saturday set a new tournament record for the lowest-scoring round, shooting an eight-under-par, 63.

“When I started the LPGA this year, the start of a few tournaments weren’t going what I thought, but now it’s going all right,” Im said after the round on Saturday. “I don’t know when it is, but I feel like I can win a tournament pretty soon.”

Im Jin-hee hits from the second tee during the fourth round of the LPGA's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club on Sunday in Los Angeles. [AP/YONHAP]

Im, 25, had seen plenty of success in Korea before earning her LPGA card through the Q-Series last December, winning four KLPGA titles in 2023. Sunday was Im’s second time ending in the top 10 on the LPGA Tour following her eighth-place finish at the Chevron.

Im Jin-hee takes final trophy of the 2023 KLPGA Tour

Korea’s Choi Hye-jin, Lee So-mi and Jang Hyo-joon finished in a 12-way tie for 13th with a two-under-par, 282.

Jenny Shin and Kim Sei-young finished in tied 32nd, Lee Jeong-eun5 and Lee Mi-hyang earned tied 39th while Park Hee-young, Kim Hyo-joo, Kim A-lim and Jeon Ji-won finished in tied 47th. Amy Yang, Ji Eun-hee and Kang Hae-ji tied for 61st and Sung Yu-jin ended in tied 66th.

A Korean golfer has yet to win a tournament in the 2024 LPGA season.

The Tour next heads to the Cognizant Founders Cup in Montclair, New Jersey, which tees off on May 9. Ko is the defending champion and the only golfer to have won the Founders Cup three times.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]