Final score 13-under-par 275; prize $1.95 million

Korea's champion lineage at the event continues after two-year gap

'Happy to have achieved my dream of winning a major'

Yu Hae-ran poses with the winner's trophy after sinking the clinching putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2026 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, on Monday. [Getty Images]
Yu Hae-ran poses with the winner's trophy after sinking the clinching putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2026 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, on Monday. [Getty Images]

Yu Hae-ran has captured the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, one of the LPGA Tour's five major titles, with a total purse of $13 million.

Yu carded a 2-under-par 70 in the final round Monday (Korean Standard Time) at Hazeltine National Golf Club (par 72) in Chaska, Minnesota, with five birdies against three bogeys.

Yu had opened the tournament in a tie for 60th, 10 strokes off the lead, but mounted a strong charge over the following days. She finished at 13-under-par 275 to top the leaderboard and claim the $1.95 million winner's check — the largest first-place prize in women's golf history.

Yu had come close to her first win of the season with a runner-up finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship last month. She broke through with a major title for her fourth career LPGA Tour victory and is the third South Korean player to win on tour this season, following Im Hee-young (one win) and Kim Hyo-joo (two wins).

It is Yu's first major championship. A former LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2023, she extends South Korea's winning run at the event, which last had a Korean champion in 2024 when Yang Hee-young claimed the title.

The KPMG Women's PGA Championship has long been fertile ground for South Korean players. Park Se-ri won it three times (1998, 2002 and 2006), and Park In-bee claimed three consecutive titles from 2013 to 2015. Park Sung-hyun (2018), Kim Sei-young (2020), Jeon In-ji (2022) and Yang Hee-young (2024) followed, and Yu has now extended that Korean champion lineage.

Yu Hae-ran is doused with champagne by fellow players after winning the KPMG Women's PGA Championship final round at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, on Monday. [Getty Images]
Yu Hae-ran is doused with champagne by fellow players after winning the KPMG Women's PGA Championship final round at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, on Monday. [Getty Images]

Conditions proved challenging this year, as thunderstorms delayed the final-round tee time by more than three hours, making it difficult for players to stay sharp. Yu entered the final round as the sole leader but made a shaky start with a bogey on the par-4 1st hole.

She bounced back with her first birdie of the day on the par-5 3rd, but then bogeyed the par-3 4th after her par putt lipped out and compounded the damage with another bogey on the par-4 5th when her tee shot found a bunker — dropping her into a tie for second.

Yu steadied herself with a par on the par-4 6th, then birdied the par-5 7th to move back into a share of the lead. A 4.4-meter birdie putt on the par-4 9th restored her sole lead. In the back nine, she drained a 4.3-meter birdie putt on the par-4 12th to open a two-stroke gap over second-place Brooke Henderson of Canada.

Yu saved par on the par-4 16th to edge closer to the title. On the par-4 18th, after Henderson had already finished with a par, Yu closed out with a par putt for the winning shot. Beaming, she soaked in her first major championship victory amid congratulations from fellow players.

At the trophy ceremony, Yu reflected on the milestone. "It feels like a dream come true right now. I had a few chances to win a major but couldn't get it done," she said. "Today I did it, and I'm really happy."

Returning to competition after a month away, Yu said the break had felt like a brief mid-season off period. "Even while I was in Korea, I kept training with my coach, and that hard work paid off with a good result this week," she said. "I'm grateful to my coach and everyone who supported me."

Meanwhile, Yun I-na finished as the sole runner-up at 11-under-par 277, two strokes behind Yu. Kim Sei-young and Kim Ah-rim shared eighth place at 6-under-par 282, giving South Korea four players in the top 10.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States finished in a tie for eighth at 6-under-par 282.


yjc@heraldcorp.com