A Historic Path to Victory
Ryu’s victory in Evian-les-Bains, France, was punctuated by a record-breaking performance in the third round. According to official LPGA scoring records, Ryu carded an 11-under 60 on Saturday, the lowest single-round score in the history of women’s major championships. This performance gave her a three-shot cushion heading into Sunday, though the lead proved volatile as weather and pressure shifted the leaderboard.
By the final holes, the tournament had evolved into a three-way sprint between Ryu, Canada’s Brooke Henderson, and Japan’s Aki Iwai.
The Playoff Drama
The playoff began with a dramatic shift in momentum. However, after laying up, Henderson’s approach shot drifted into the rough. Ryu, meanwhile, found the green in two, setting up a routine two-putt birdie.
When Henderson failed to hole her chip shot, Ryu was left with a four-foot putt for the win. She converted the attempt, securing back-to-back major titles in the same season—a feat previously achieved by Nelly Korda earlier in 2024.
"It feels like an unreal dream right now," Ryu said following the trophy presentation. "Because three weeks ago, I didn’t have a major championship, and now I have two in a row."
Competitive Context and Rankings
For Brooke Henderson, the runner-up finish marked another consistent performance in a major championship, building on her third-place finish at the Women’s PGA. "I played awesome today, which is really exciting," Henderson noted. "To finish second in a major and third a couple of weeks ago, my game is in a really good spot."
Despite the disappointment of the narrow loss, her performance at the Evian Championship represents the best major finish of her career, surpassing her tie for 19th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Tournament Outlook
The LPGA Tour now looks toward the AIG Women’s Open, the final major of the season. With Ryu holding two of the year’s four major trophies and Nelly Korda holding the others, the tour heads into the final stretch of the season with two players having dominated the year’s biggest stages.
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