Ryu Hae-ran wins Hite Jinro Championship, completing all-major season

First KLPGA start of the year yields 6th career title

Runner-up Kim Min-sol sets all-time single-season earnings record

Ryu Hae-ran tees off on the fourth hole during the final round of the 26th Hite Jinro Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday. [KLPGA]

Ryu Hae-ran claimed the KLPGA Tour's Hite Jinro Championship on Sunday, making all three of her victories this season — across both the LPGA Tour and the Korean circuit — major titles.

Ryu carded a 3-under-par 69 in the final round of the 26th Hite Jinro Championship at Blue Heron Golf Club (par 72) in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, posting four birdies against one bogey. The tournament carried a purse of 1.5 billion won ($1.1 million).

Her four-round total of 4-under-par 284 was four strokes clear of Kim Min-sol and Kim Min-ju, who both finished at even-par 288. Ryu's winner's share came to 270 million won.

It was Ryu's first KLPGA Tour start since the Jeju Samdasoo Masters Tournament in August 2024 — a gap of two years and two months — and her first domestic tour victory since the Nexen Saint Nine Masters in 2022, giving her six career KLPGA Tour wins.

The win was also her first KLPGA Tour major title. Having already captured the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship on the LPGA Tour this season, Ryu added a third major trophy in her first Korean start in over two years. All three of her victories in 2026 came in major championships.

Ryu entered the final round as the solo leader by one stroke. She made her first birdie at the par-5 fourth hole, then drained a 7-meter birdie putt at the par-4 sixth. Another birdie at the par-5 10th stretched her lead over the chasing group to three strokes.

A scare came at the par-4 14th, where a three-putt gave Ryu her only bogey of the day. Seo Eo-jin birdied the same hole to close the gap to one. But Seo's challenge unraveled at the par-4 15th, where a wayward tee shot far left of the fairway forced her to declare an unplayable lie, costing her two strokes and swinging momentum back to Ryu.

Ryu put the result beyond doubt at the par-3 16th, sticking her tee shot from 180 yards to within a meter of the cup and converting the birdie to rebuild her lead. Standing four strokes clear playing the par-5 18th, she found a fairway bunker off the tee but saved par to seal the championship.

Kim Min-sol plays her second shot on the first hole during the final round of the 26th Hite Jinro Championship on the KLPGA Tour at Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday. [KLPGA]

Joint runner-up Kim Min-sol added 142.5 million won to her season total, pushing her earnings to 1.53 billion won and setting a new KLPGA Tour record for prize money in a single season. The previous mark of 1.52 billion won was set by Park Min-ji in 2021; Kim surpassed it by 8.6 million won.

Kim Min-ju also finished at even-par 288 to share second place with Kim Min-sol. Seo Eo-jin, who had briefly closed to within one stroke of Ryu, dropped further after her two-stroke penalty at the 15th and added a bogey at the par-4 17th, finishing at 2-over-par 290 in a tie for fifth.

yjc@heraldcorp.com