Korean golfer Ryu Hae-ran named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year

Ryu Hae-ran (age 22) was confirmed as the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year. It’s been four years since Lee Jeong-eun in 2019 for a Korean player to win the award on the LPGA Tour.

The 22-year-old tied for 12th place with a final total of 12 under par 268 at Annika Driven, which ended on Sunday at the Pelican Golf Club in Bel Air, Florida, the U.S. She was seven strokes behind Lilia Vu, who won the cup.

Having added 46 points for the Rookie of the Year award in the tournament, Ryu has a total of 893 points, confirming her win as the Rookie of the Year. This is irrelevant to her performance at the CME Group Tour Championship, the season's final match starting on Thursday. One hundred and fifty points are required to be named Rookie of the Year, which is awarded to the winner of the CME Group Tour, so Grace Kim (Australia), ranked second in this category, cannot win higher points than Ryu.

“The LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award is an award that all rookies want to win and has been won by many famous players,” Ryu said. “I feel proud of myself for receiving this award. It is significant for me to win since my tour debut in Arkansas.”

Ryu is the 14th Korean player to receive the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year award. Pak Se-ri was named the first Korean player to receive the award in 1998.


hun@donga.com