Ryu Hae-ran beats Ko Jin-young to win FM Championship

Ryu Hae-ran beat Ko Jin-young in an all-Korean playoff at the FM Championship on Sunday at TPC Boston in Massachusetts to claim her second LPGA title and $570,000 in prize money.

Ryu Hae-ran holds the trophy after winning the FM Championship at TPC Boston in Massachusetts on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Ryu Hae-ran beat Ko Jin-young in an all-Korean playoff at the FM Championship on Sunday at TPC Boston in Massachusetts to claim her second LPGA title and $570,000 in prize money.

After an unimpressive third round with two double bogeys and five bogeys, 23-year-old Ryu redeemed herself in the last round, carding nine birdies and one bogey to record an eight-under-par, 64, for a final score of 15-under-par, 273, to tie with Ko for a playoff.

Ko also pulled off a strong performance in the fourth round despite making two bogeys, carding two eagles and two birdies, before heading to the playoff.

Ko Jin-young hits her shot from the second tee during the final round of the FM Championship 2024 at TPC Boston on Sunday in Massachusetts. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko carded a bogey on the par-5 18th playoff hole, while Ryu made par to win her first playoff on the LPGA Tour and take the tournament.

Sunday’s win marks Ryu’s first victory of the 2024 LPGA season and her second on the Tour after the Walmart NK Arkansas Championship in October last year.

This season is only her second on the Tour that she joined by winning the 2022 LPGA Q-Series. Her first season was a success, winning not only her first title but also the 2023 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year award.

Ryu was already a well-known figure in Korean golf before her LPGA debut, having won five KLPGA titles since joining in 2020. She was the 2020 KLPGA Rookie of the Year.

Sunday’s victory makes Ryu the second Korean golfer to win on the Tour this year after Amy Yang at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship — one of the five majors — in June.

With the $570,000 winner’s check, Ryu has made $2,214,809 this season, with nine top-10 finishes, including five top-five results.

Sunday's result was Ko's second runner-up finish on the Tour this season, having tied second at the KPMG Championship. She has yet to secure an LPGA title this year despite having made six top-10 finishes so far.

Liu Ruixin of China managed a sole third finish on Sunday with a 14-under-par, 274, while Allisen Corpuz of the United States and Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand tied for fourth with a 13-under.

No other Korean golfer made a top-10 finish at the FM Championship, with Lee So-mi having recorded the third-highest finish by a Korean at a joint 15th place with seven-under-par, 281.

Choi Hye-jin and Yang, meanwhile, tied for 25th with five-under, 283.

Nine more opportunities for an LPGA victory remain this season, although none of them are majors. The last major trophy of the season went to Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who won the AIG Women’s Open on Aug. 25 after securing a gold medal at the Paris Olympics earlier in August.

No Korean golfer, both in the men and women’s tournaments, stood on the podium in Paris. Yang, Ko and Kim Hyo-joo competed for Korea, but a joint fourth place finish from Yang was the best result by a Korean in both tournaments.

The LPGA Tour will halt for two weeks until the Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio on Sept. 19. The Tour will then head to Arkansas for the Walmart Arkansas Championship the following week, before its Asian swing from October to early November, during which it will visit China, Korea, Malaysia and Japan.

Each country will host one LPGA tournament apiece, with Korea taking charge of the BMW Ladies Championship that tees off on Oct. 17.

The 2024 season schedule will run through the end of November.

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