Ryu So-yeon (; ; born 29 June 1990), also known as So Yeon Ryu, is a South Korean professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er who plays on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

and on the

LPGA of Korea Tour The LPGA of Korea Tour is a South Korean professional golf tour for Women's sports, women. LPGA stands for Ladies Professional Golf Association. LPGA of Korea runs this tour, not the American LPGA. It is one of the world's five leading women's golf ...

. She is a two-time major winner having won the

2011 U.S. Women's Open The 2011 U.S. Women's Open was the 66th U.S. Women's Open, played July 7–11 at The Broadmoor East Course in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The cour ...

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. 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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

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. On 23 June 2013, Ryu lost in a sudden-death playoff at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship to fellow South Korean

Inbee Park Inbee Park (, or ; born 12 July 1988) is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. She has been the number one ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings for four separate runs: April 201 ...

. 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 The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Sinc ...

with a sudden-death playoff victory over

Lexi Thompson Alexis Noel Thompson (born February 10, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12 in 2007 U.S. Women's Open, 2007, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open, since broken b ...

. 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 The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...

. In March 2024, Ryu announced her intention to retire after the 2024

Chevron Championship The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Sinc ...

Personal life

Ryu took classes at

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

while also competing full-time on the LPGA Tour. She graduated in February 2013 with a degree in sports business.

Professional wins (20)

LPGA Tour wins (6)

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–4)

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (10)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

Ladies European Tour wins (1)

Cactus Tour wins (1)

Other wins (2)

*2014 Mission Hills World Ladies Championship - team (with

) *2015 World Ladies Championship - team (with

)

Major championships

Wins (2)

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.'' ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013. DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 24 (2015 ANA – 2019 Evian) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

LPGA Tour career summary

Official through the 2024 season
* 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

at the end of each calendar year.

Team appearances

Amateur *

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fren ...

(representing South Korea):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Professional *

International Crown The Hanwha LifePlus International Crown is a biennial women's professional team golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. Eight national teams of four players each (32 players in total) participate in the match play event. Beginning in 2025, the field ...

(representing South Korea):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(winners)

References

External links

* *
Profile on SeoulSisters.comProfile at Yahoo! Sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryu, So-yeon South Korean female golfers LPGA of Korea Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of LPGA major golf championships Asian Games medalists in golf Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Golfers at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Golfers from Seoul Yonsei University alumni 1990 births Living people 21st-century South Korean sportswomen