Yu Hae-ran poses with the winner's trophy. [Photo=LPGA]
Yu Hae-ran poses with the winner's trophy. [Photo=LPGA]

Yu Hae-ran claimed her first major title Sunday, staging one of the most remarkable comebacks in LPGA Tour history to win the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the season's third major, with a $13 million purse.

Playing the final round at Hazeltine National Golf Club (par 72, 6,536 yards) in Chaska, Minnesota, Yu carded five birdies and three bogeys for a 2-under 70, finishing at 13-under-par 275 to beat runner-up Yun I-na by two strokes.

The victory marked the first time a Korean player had won a major since Yang Hee-young took this same title in 2024. Korean players have now won six of the last 12 editions of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

"Winning a major is a moment I have dreamed of since I first picked up a golf club," Yu said. "I'm so happy to have competed against and beaten great players like Nelly Korda. I'm grateful to the fans who cheered me on until the very end, and to myself for never giving up."

The victory earned Yu $1.95 million, the largest prize in women's major championship history. It also extended her run to at least one win per season over four consecutive years, following her third LPGA victory at last year's Black Desert Championship.

Yu's triumph was a comeback for the ages. She opened the tournament with a 1-over 73 to sit tied for 70th, trailing leader Yun by 10 strokes. She then stormed back with a 64 in the second round and a 68 in the third, cutting the deficit by 12 shots over two days to vault to the top of the leaderboard. She sealed the victory with a strong back-nine push in the final round, picking off birdies when it mattered most.

According to the LPGA Tour, no player had won a major after trailing by 10 or more strokes after the first round in the previous 60 years, making Yu's comeback a feat without precedent in modern major championship history.

"When I finished the first day at 1-over and tied for 70th, I wasn't even thinking about winning — I was worried about making the cut," Yu said. "I still can't believe I'm standing here holding a major trophy."

"Early bogeys could have rattled me, but I told myself this is a tough course and everyone can make mistakes," she added. "I just focused on my own game, and that made all the difference."

The final round was delayed roughly three and a half hours by severe weather, testing the players' mental fortitude. Yu dropped two shots through the fifth hole — three bogeys against one birdie — and briefly surrendered the lead to Brooke Henderson of Canada.

She turned the momentum at the par-5 seventh with a birdie, then reeled off three more birdies across holes 9 through 12 to open a two-stroke lead. The pivotal moments came at the par-4 10th and par-4 12th.

Yu drained a 3-meter birdie putt at the 10th to reclaim the lead, then holed a testing 4-meter birdie putt at the 12th to steady herself. Henderson then drove into deep rough at the par-4 14th and made bogey, allowing Yu to stretch her lead to three strokes and effectively seal the title.

Yun, who had led through the first two rounds, shot a final-round 2-under 70 to finish at 11-under 277, earning runner-up honors — the best result of her career on the LPGA Tour. She closed with a birdie at the par-4 18th and collected a career-high $1,169,107 in prize money.

Henderson, who had battled Yu deep into the final round, finished even par for the day at 10-under 278, sharing third place with Daveigh Weber of the Netherlands. Henderson won this event in 2016 at age 18, but her bogey at the 14th ended her bid to reclaim the title a decade later.

Nelly Korda of the United States, chasing a third consecutive major title, finished in a tie for eighth at 6-under 282 alongside Kim Sei-young, Kim A-lim and Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. Korda made five birdies but also had four bogeys and a double bogey after finding the water at the par-4 16th, finishing 1-over for the day.


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