Ryu So-yeon (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

유소연, RR ''Ryu So-yeon'', MR ''Ryu Soyŏn'', ; 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 clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

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 the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of wee ...

and on the

LPGA of Korea Tour The LPGA of Korea Tour is a South Korean professional golf tour for 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 tours. Based o ...

. She is a two-time major winner having won the 2011 U.S. Women's Open and the

2017 ANA Inspiration The 2017 ANA Inspiration was a professional women's golf tournament played March 30 – April 2 at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. It was the 46th edition of the tournament, and its ...

. 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 The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship is an annual women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour in Rogers, Arkansas, north of Fayetteville. First played in 2007, all editions of the tournament have been played at Pinnacle Country Club. ...

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 The Cactus Tour is an unofficial developmental golf tour, or mini-tour, for women golfers which operates in the American Southwest. It bills itself as "The Tour for Women Golf Professionals in the Western United States!". '' Golfweek'' termed ...

, in which she won by six strokes. She then joined the LPGA of Korea, winning the first event she played, the

Sports Seoul Open Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can ...

. On 11 July 2011, Ryu won the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

. On the 18th hole of the final round, the toughest hole for the tournament, she trailed the clubhouse leader

Hee Kyung Seo Hee-kyung Seo ( ko, 서희경, born 8 July 1986), also known as Seo Hee-kyung, is a former South Korean female professional golfer playing on the LPGA Tour and on LPGA of Korea Tour. She won the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2011. After ...

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 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

at the

Jamie Farr Toledo Classic The Dana Open Presented By Marathon, is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 1984 and has been played yearly, except in 1986 and 2011, in Sylvania, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Toledo. The tournament is tel ...

. With one tournament still to play in the season, Ryu had a big enough lead in the

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

points standings to clinch the award for the season. On 23 June 2013, Ryu lost in a sudden-death playoff at the

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 2 ...

. 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. Fou ...

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, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 15 ...

. 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

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 eight women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association ( ...

Personal life

Ryu took classes at

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the " SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in t ...

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 The World Ladies Championship was a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour. It was played at the Mission Hills Haikou Mission Hills Haikou is a golf complex in Haikou, Hainan, China. Located around 10 km south of the center of Haikou ...

- team (with

) *2015

World Ladies Championship The World Ladies Championship was a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour. It was played at the Mission Hills Haikou Mission Hills Haikou is a golf complex in Haikou, Hainan, China. Located around 10 km south of the center of Haikou ...

- 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 before 2019.'' ^ 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 2022 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 Fre ...

(representing South Korea): 2006 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. History It debuted in 2014 at ...

(representing South Korea):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, 2016,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

(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