So Yeon Ryu
Name:
So Yeon RyuCountry:
South KoreaBorn:
June 29, 1990 in Seoul, South Korea.Original/Home Club:
Occupation:
Professional golferTurned Pro:
2007MAJORS (2): US Women's Open (2011); ANA Inspiration (2017). Multiple wins on the Korea and LPGA Tours. LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year (2012). Held the position of No.1 golfer in the Women's Official World Golf Rankings.
Ryu turned professional in 2007 at the age of 17. Her first success came on America's Cactus Tour, before she joined the LPGA of Korea Tour in 2008. In Korea she recorded a win in her rookie year, and then five more in 2009. She joined the LPGA Tour in 2012, having won the U.S. Women's Open in a playoff the previous year.
Ryu's second major championship (2017 ANA Inspiration) also came after a playoff. Her playoff opponent Lexi Thompson appeared to be cruising to a comfortable win in the event, until she was hit with a four-shot penalty on the 12th green on the final day. The penalty was for an unintentional and inconsequential rule "infringement" that occured on the previous day. The "infringement" was not picked-up by anyone at the event, but was spotted by a hyperactive armchair TV viewer.
America
Meijer
Played as the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give (June 14-17). Second-placed Caroline Masson (Ger) finished 2 shots behind So Yeon Ryu (S Kor). [Blythefield CC, Belmont, nr Grand Rapids, Michigan].
Awards
Rolex
So Yeon Ryu (S Kor) and LPGA Tour rookie Sung Hyun Park (S Kor) were joint winners of the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year Award, based on a points system for top 10 finishes and performance in Majors. Lexi Thompson (USA) and Shanshan Feng (China) were jointly third with 159 pts each.
America
Walmart/P&G
Played as the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G (June 23-25). Second-placed Amy Yang (S Kor) and Moriya Jutanugarn (Thai) finished 2 shots behind So Yeon Ryu (S Kor), whose win took her to the No.1 spot in the Women's World Golf Rankings. [Pinnacle CC, Rogers, Arkansas].
Majors
ANA
Played as the ANA Inspiration (46th) (Mar 30-Apr 2). So Yeon Ryu (S Kor) beat Lexi Thompson (USA) with a birdie at the first playoff hole (par-5 18th). [Dinah Shore Tournament course, Mission Hills CC, Rancho Mirage, CA].
Note: Thompson was denied a second major title by the intervention of an armchair TV viewer, who spotted a "rule infringement" from Saturday's play. This led to LPGA rules officials giving Thompson a 4-shot penalty, which was advised to her on the 12th green during Sunday's play! Thompson's "crime" was misplacing her ball by a quarter of an inch (6mm) on a one-foot putt. The misplacement was unintentional, did not put the ball any nearer the hole or on a better lie, and was completely inconsequential to the score. Not for the first time, the spirit of golf was trampled on by the combination of a hyperactive TV viewer and microscopic rule interpretations, which turned the event against its rightful winner.
Played as the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship (March 12-15; CLPGA/LET Tours event). Second-placed Inbee Park (S Kor) finished 1 shot behind So Yeon Ryu (S Kor), who recorded her first LET win. The team strokeplay competition was won by South Korea (Inbee Park & So Yeon Ryu); second was Norway (Suzann Pettersen & Marianne Skarpnord). [Blackstone course, Mission Hills Haikou, Hainan Island, China].
America
Canadian Pacific
Played as the Canadian Pacific Women's Open (Aug 21-24; formerly CN Canadian Women's Open). Second-placed Na Yeon Choi (S Kor) finished 2 shots behind So Yeon Ryu (S Kor). [London H&CC, London, Ontario].
Awards
Rolex
Ryu (S Kor) won the LPGA Tour 2012 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award as the leading first-season player. Using a season-long points system (based on finishes in Tour events), Ryu accumulated 1,448 pts; Lexi Thompson (USA) was second with 817 pts. Ryu finished sixth on the LPGA money list, with earnings of $1,282,673.
America
Kroger
Played as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic presented by Kroger, Owens Corning & O-I (Aug 9-12). Second-placed Angela Stanford (USA) finished 7 shots behind Tour rookie So Yeon Ryu (S Kor), who claimed her first win as a full LPGA Tour member. [Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, nr Toledo, Ohio].
Majors
USGA
The US Women's Open (66th) (July 7-11). Ryu (S Kor) beat Hee Kyung Seo (S Kor) in a three-hole aggregate playoff: Ryu 10 (-2), Seo 13 (+1). This was Korean Tour player Ryu's first major championship title and first LPGA Tour win. [East course, The Broadmoor GC, Colorado Springs, Colo.].
Tournaments:
European Tour: 2021 marks the 50th and last season of the world renowned European Tour, launched in April 1972 at the Spanish Open. From 2022 the Tour will be sponsored by Dubai-based global supply chain and ports operator DP World, and will be known as the DP World Tour.
South African Open: December 2021 events in South Africa have again been impacted by the Covid pandemic. The South African Open (Dec 2-5) will no longer be played as a DP World Tour event, and the Alfred Dunhill Championship (Dec 9-12) has been cancelled.
Who's Who:
Bernhard Langer: at age 64, Langer collected a record sixth Charles Schwab Cup, the only player to have won the season-long points chase more than twice. He also topped the PGA Tour Champions money-list for the 11th time out of a possible 13 since 2008.
Carlota Ciganda: the five-time Solheim Cup star was delighted to record a fourth Ladies European Tour win in her home national championship, the Ladies Spanish Open.
Lee Elder: Trailblazer, Ryder Cup player, four-time PGA Tour winner and eight-time Senior PGA Tour winner, Lee Elder died on November 28, aged 87. In 1975 he became the first African American golfer to play in the Masters tournament, and in so doing provided one of the pivotal moments in the history of professional golf.
Golf World Top 100: Best Golf Courses in Europe. From France to Spain to the Netherlands and Norway, the Golf World Top 100 panel reveals the places you have to play (published 20 October 2021).
New 27-hole golf complex to be built in southern Belgium
A new golf complex in southern Belgium, close to the border with Luxembourg, will start construction in June 2021.
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club "makes its tournament debut with the hosting of the Italian Open on the European Tour" by Richard Humphreys
Gamble Sands opens short course:
David McLay Kidd’s 14-hole QuickSands short course has opened for play at Gamble Sands in Brewster, Washington.
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