Haeran Ryu fired an 11-under 60 on Saturday at the Evian Championship, shattering the scoring record for LPGA majors and taking a commanding three-shot lead into the final round.
The South Korean star, fresh off her first major victory at the Women's PGA Championship two weeks earlier, unleashed a barrage of birdies at Evian Golf Resort. She closed with four birdies in her final five holes, carding nine birdies and an eagle to demolish the previous LPGA major record of 61, which had stood since 2014.
Ryu did not immediately realize the magnitude of her round. "After the putt and I counted my score with my caddie," she said, "Oh my God, it's 11-under par today. It was so amazing."
A highlight came on the sixth hole, where she holed a 7-iron from 155 yards for eagle. "That hole is a little tricky because little narrow and the green is little hilly," Ryu explained. "I just walking towards the green and it's going in. So it was so happy and surprise there."
Through three rounds, Ryu sits at 18-under 194, also an LPGA major record. She holds off Japan's Aki Iwai, who shot 65 and trails by three shots. Brooke Henderson and Mao Saigo of Japan occupy third and fourth, each seven shots back after rounds of 64 and 67 respectively.
England's Lottie Woad, who held the third-round lead, stumbled with a 72 and fell nine shots adrift.
Ryu's assault on the record books came within one shot of the LPGA all-time single-round record of 59. The previous holders of the 61-shot mark at Evian were Leona Maguire, Jeung-eun Lee (2021), and Hyo Joo Kim (2014). Only Kim went on to win the championship.
The test now looms large. Iwai has already manufactured 21 birdies over three rounds despite her mistakes, and she refused to concede. "Last year I missed the cut, and so I want revenge," she said. "Really optimistic tomorrow. I just keep going."
For Ryu, Sunday offers the chance to join Nelly Korda as a double major winner in 2024. Back surgery limited her availability after a runner-up finish in late summer, but she returned within five weeks to capture her breakthrough major. Another championship would cap an improbable surge.
"That is amazing, amazing dream," Ryu said of the possibility. "So I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day and Aki is pretty good player and everybody is so good player, so I just doing pretty well."
Author James Rodriguez: "Ryu's 60 is the kind of round that haunts you if you don't finish the job, and she knows it."
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