S. Korean Ryu So-yeon clinches world No.1 in women's golf

Ryu So-yeon poses with her trophy after winning the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark., Sunday. / Courtesy of Gabe Roux

Korean golfer wins in Arkansas with tournament record

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korean golfer Ryu So-yeon seized world No. 1 ranking after winning the LPGA Tour’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Sunday.

At Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas, the 26-year-old posted a two-under 69 in the final round to finish two shots ahead of her fellow Korean golfer Amy Yang and Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand.

She finished the championship with the tournament’s record at 18-under par, one stroke below the previous record of 17-under par set by defending champion Lydia Ko last year. This was Ryu’s fifth LPGA Tour career win.

With the win, Ryu jumped from third to first in the Rolex Rankings, Monday.

Ryu is the third South Korean to sit atop the women’s world rankings, following Shin Ji-yai in 2010 and Park In-bee in 2013.

“Dreams come true! I always dreamed about it. I cannot believe it. I didn’t expect two good things to come together,” Ryu told LPGA.com after the win. “First of all, I really want to thank everyone who has been supportive of me, to help me become the No. 1 player in the world. This has finally made my dream come true. This is going to be my first week as the No. 1 player in the world. I know it’s going to be a lot of pressure and I know I can handle a lot of different things.”

Following her first win of the season at the ANA Inspiration in April, the victory in Arkansas made Ryu the most consistent player this season as she became the first two-time winner of the 2017 season.

“I’m glad to be a multiple winner, and this is not the first time I’ve won more than once in a year, so hopefully many more will come,” said Ryu. “One of the reasons why I think I can be consistent is because I enjoy this game. I just want to be focused, enjoy playing and then try to improve every moment. Then, I want to see what God is going to give me.”

Ryu went into the final round with a five-shot lead, but the way to win the title was not easy as Yang, who started her final round seven strokes behind Ryu, capped her round with back-to-back birdies to pull within two strokes of Ryu. But Yang couldn’t threaten Ryu anymore when she missed a short birdie attempt on 17.

Defending champion Ko shot a 68 on Sunday to tie for 25th at 8-under.