Ryu So-yeon
유소연
Ryu in 2017
Personal information
Born (1990-06-29) 29 June 1990 (age 33)
Seoul, South Korea
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sporting nationality South Korea
ResidenceSouth Korea
Career
CollegeYonsei University[1]
(did not play college golf)
Turned professional2007
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 2012)
LPGA of Korea Tour (joined 2008)
Professional wins21
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour6
Ladies European Tour1
LPGA of Japan Tour1
LPGA of Korea Tour10
Other3
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 2)
Chevron ChampionshipWon: 2017
Women's PGA C'shipT2: 2018
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 2011
Women's British Open3rd/T3: 2015, 2018
Evian ChampionshipT2: 2016
Achievements and awards
LPGA Rookie of the Year2012
Rolex Annika Major Award2017
LPGA Player of the Year2017
Medal record
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Individual
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Women's team

Ryu So-yeon (Korean 유소연, RR Ryu So-yeon, MR Ryu Soyŏn, pronounced [ɾju sojʌn]; born 29 June 1990), also known as So Yeon Ryu, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and on the LPGA of Korea Tour.

She is a two-time major winner having won the 2011 U.S. Women's Open and the 2017 ANA Inspiration.

On 26 June 2017, she became only the 11th No. 1 ranked golfer in the Rolex Rankings by virtue of winning her 5th LPGA Tour title at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Professional career

Ryu turned professional in 2007 at age 17. Her first win as a professional came in February 2008 on the American Cactus Tour, in which she won by six strokes.[2] She then joined the LPGA of Korea, winning the first event she played, the Sports Seoul Open.

On 11 July 2011, Ryu won the U.S. Women's Open. On the 18th hole of the final round, the toughest hole for the tournament, she trailed the clubhouse leader Hee Kyung Seo by one stroke, but hit her approach to 6 feet and made the birdie putt to force a playoff. Ryu won the three-hole playoff with a birdie on the last hole.

Ryu picked up her second career LPGA Tour win in 2012 at the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic. With one tournament still to play in the season, Ryu had a big enough lead in the LPGA Rookie of the Year points standings to clinch the award for the season.[3]

On 23 June 2013, Ryu lost in a sudden-death playoff at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship to fellow South Korean Inbee Park. Park made birdie on the first extra hole to take the victory after Ryu could only make par.

On 2 April 2017, Ryu won her second major championship at the ANA Inspiration with a sudden-death playoff victory over Lexi Thompson. The tournament was controversial though, after leader Thompson was handed a retrospective four stroke penalty midway through the final round, for an infringement reported by a TV viewer during the third round. Thompson was found to have incorrectly marked and replaced her ball on the 17th hole during the third round. At the time, Thompson had a two stroke advantage. Ryu went on to win with a birdie on the first extra hole of the playoff.

On 25 June 2017, Ryu won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and became the number one golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[4][5]

Personal life

Ryu took classes at Yonsei University while also competing full-time on the LPGA Tour.[6] She graduated in February 2013 with a degree in sports business.[7]

Professional wins (20)

LPGA Tour wins (6)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 11 Jul 2011 U.S. Women's Open 74-69-69-69=281 −3 Playoff South Korea Hee Kyung Seo 585,000
2 12 Aug 2012 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic 67-68-67-62=264 −20 7 strokes United States Angela Stanford 195,000
3 24 Aug 2014 Canadian Pacific Women's Open 63-66-67-69=265 −23 2 strokes South Korea Na Yeon Choi 337,000
4 2 Apr 2017 ANA Inspiration 68-69-69-68=274 −14 Playoff United States Lexi Thompson 405,000
5 25 Jun 2017 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship 65-61-69=195 −18 2 strokes Thailand Moriya Jutanugarn
South Korea Amy Yang 		300,000
6 17 Jun 2018 Meijer LPGA Classic 64-67-69-67=267 −21 2 strokes Germany Caroline Masson 300,000

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2011 U.S. Women's Open South Korea Hee-Kyung Seo Won three hole aggregate playoff:
Ryu: 3-4-3=10 (−2), Seo: 3-6-4=13 (+1)
2 2012 Women's Australian Open Paraguay Julieta Granada
United States Jessica Korda
United States Stacy Lewis
United States Brittany Lincicome
South Korea Hee-Kyung Seo 		Korda won with birdie on second extra hole
3 2013 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship South Korea Inbee Park Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4 2017 ANA Inspiration United States Lexi Thompson Won with birdie on first extra hole
5 2018 KPMG Women's PGA Championship Japan Nasa Hataoka
South Korea Park Sung-hyun 		Park won with birdie on second extra hole.
Hataoka eliminated by par on first hole
6 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open South Korea Choi Hye-jin
South Korea Park Hee-young 		Park won with par on fourth extra hole
Ryu eliminated by birdie on second hole

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 13 Apr 2008 Sports Seoul-KYJ Golf Open −5 (68-70-73=211) 4 strokes South Korea Hye Yong Choi
2 25 May 2009 Doosan Match Play Championship 27 holes South Korea Hye Yong Choi
3 7 Jun 2009 Woori Investment & Securities Ladies Championship −12 (70-66-68=204) 4 strokes South Korea Soo Jin Yang
4 19 Jun 2009 MBC Tour S-Oil Champions Invitational −6 (69-69-72=210) 1 stroke South Korea Hye Jung Kim
5 16 Aug 2009 SBS Charity Women’s Open −10 (69-70-67=206) 1 stroke South Korea Il Mi Chung
6 19 Dec 2009 Orient China Ladies Open −10 (70-71-70=211) Playoff South Korea Hee Kyung Seo
7 11 Jun 2011 SBS Tour Lotte Cantata Ladies Open −14 (69-69-74=212) 1 stroke South Korea Hye Youn Kim
8 9 Sep 2012 Hanwha Finance Classic −9 (70-70-71-68=279) 1 stroke South Korea Heo Yoon-kyung
9 30 Aug 2015 High1 Resort Ladies Open −11 (71-67-69-70=277) 2 strokes South Korea Jang Ha-na
10 21 Jun 2020 Kia Motors Korea Women's Open Championship −12 (66-67-71-72=276) 1 stroke South Korea Kim Hyo-joo

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 30 Sep 2018 Japan Women's Open Golf Championship 65-72-69-67=273 −15 3 strokes Japan Nasa Hataoka

Ladies European Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 15 Mar 2015 World Ladies Championship
(individual) 		72-73-65-69=279 −13 1 stroke South Korea Inbee Park

Cactus Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 6 Feb 2008 Event #3 at Wigwam Red −8 (70-70-68=208) 6 strokes United States Marcy Hart

Other wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2011 U.S. Women's Open Tied for lead −3 (74-69-69-69=281) Playoff1 South Korea Hee Kyung Seo
2017 ANA Inspiration 3-shot deficit −14 (68-69-69-68=274) Playoff2 United States Lexi Thompson

1 Defeated Hee Kyung Seo in a three-hole playoff: Ryu (3-4-3=10) and Seo (3-6-4=13)
2 Defeated Lexi Thompson in a sudden death playoff with birdie on first extra hole

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Chevron Championship T64 T41 T56 2 T46 T20 T10 1 T48 T39
Women's PGA Championship T25 CUT T13 T13 T4 T14 T2 T10
U.S. Women's Open T25 1 T14 3 T5 T5 T11 T3 23 T2
The Evian Championship ^ T4 DQ T46 T2 T40 T10 T25
Women's British Open T5 T17 T17 T3 T8 T43 3 CUT
Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023
Chevron Championship T50 T71 CUT
Women's PGA Championship T33 49
U.S. Women's Open T20 22 CUT T53
The Evian Championship ^ NT T54 T8 CUT
Women's British Open CUT T35

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Chevron Championship 1 1 0 2 3 4 12 11
Women's PGA Championship 0 1 0 2 3 7 10 9
U.S. Women's Open 1 1 2 6 6 12 14 13
The Evian Championship 0 1 0 2 4 5 10 8
Women's British Open 0 0 2 3 4 6 10 8
Totals 2 4 4 15 20 34 56 49

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments
played		 Cuts
made*		 Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish		 Earnings
($)		 Money
list rank		 Scoring
average		 Scoring
rank
2008 1 1 0 0 0 0 T46 5,806 n/a 74.33 n/a
2009 2 1 0 0 0 0 T29 13,111 n/a 73.80 n/a
2010 3 3 0 0 0 0 T12 61,878 n/a 73.18 n/a
2011 4 4 1 0 0 1 1 624,477 n/a 71.80 n/a
2012 24 23 1 2 0 16 1 1,282,673 6 70.30 2
2013 24 23 0 2 3 10 2 1,278,864 5 70.29 4
2014 25 24 1 1 2 15 1 1,468,804 5 69.98 4
2015 25 25 0 2 2 10 2 1,292,395 8 70.32 7
2016 24 24 0 2 1 11 2 1,259,651 10 70.07 6
2017 23 21 2 2 2 12 1 1,981,593 2 69.68 6
2018 23 23 1 0 3 7 1 1,438,850 6 70.10 9
2019 20 16 0 1 0 5 T2 815,768 23 70.81 32
2020 5 5 0 2 0 2 T2 320,626 35 71.00 n/a
2021 20 19 0 0 2 6 T3 687,086 29 70.01 14
2022 20 15 0 0 0 2 T7 332,195 72 71.09 54
2023 11 4 0 0 0 1 T7 78,668 137 72.70 134

* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.
Ryu was not a member of the LPGA Tour until 2012. Money earned from 2008 to 2011 was not considered official by the LPGA Tour.

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year World
ranking		 Source
2007 554 [9]
2008 127 [10]
2009 59 [11]
2010 43 [12]
2011 27 [13]
2012 7 [14]
2013 5 [15]
2014 7 [16]
2015 5 [17]
2016 9 [18]
2017 3 [19]
2018 3 [20]
2019 18 [21]
2020 14 [22]
2021 25 [23]
2022 78 [24]
2023 218 [25]

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References

  1. ^ Crouse, Karen (11 July 2011). "New Open Winner Ponders Tough Choice: School or Tour?". New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Cactus Tour 2008 Results". Cactus Tour web site. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Ryu Know It!". LPGA. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. ^ "So Yeon Ryu wins in Arkansas; first two-time winner this year". ESPN. Associated Press. 25 June 2017.
  5. ^ "So Yeon Ryu Becomes No. 1 Player in Rolex Rankings". LPGA. 26 June 2017.
  6. ^ Mell, Randall (27 April 2012). "College and pro golf? It's possible". Golf Channel. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Ryu So-yeon Graduates". Golfcourier.com. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  8. ^ "So Yeon Ryu results". LPGA. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2007.
  10. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2008.
  11. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2009.
  12. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2010.
  13. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2012.
  15. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013.
  16. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2016.
  19. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2017.
  20. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryu So-yeon.
The Chevron Championship winners (major era only)
U.S. Women's Open champions
World number one women's golfers since 2006
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