Haeran Ryu bounces back to win the FM tournament in the playoffs

NORTON, Mass. — Haeran Ryu bounced back in the third round to win the FM Championship on a rainy Sunday at TPC Boston.

Four strokes behind Jin Young Ko entering Sunday’s match after a six-under on Saturday, Ryu closed with an 8-under 64 to match Ko at 15-under 273, then beat another South Korean player for par on the first playoff hole.

On one more hole in fading light, Ryu hit his third shot 120 yards to the 12th on the par-5 18th, then watched as Ko shot his way 111 yards behind the green. Ko reached about 30 feet and made bogey, then Ryu holed his birdie putt and cruised to his second LPGA Tour victory.

“I was very nervous in the playoffs, but maybe Jin Young Ko is like me,” Ryu said. “I think I’m just thanking God. I can’t believe it here now.”

Ryu shot a career-best 62 on Friday to take a six-stroke lead into the weekend, then had a 78 on Saturday.

“My caddy and other teammates told me, ‘Today is bad, and tomorrow everything will be fine. Just trust yourself,'” Ryu said.

On Sunday, the 23-year-old birdied the first four holes and six of the first eight. He added birdies on Nos. 10, 12 and 15, dropped a stroke on the par-3 16th, and — after a rain delay of just over two hours — birdied the final two holes.

Ko, the former world No. 1 who has not won on the LPGA Tour since May 2023, missed an 8-foot birdie try to win by 18 in regulation. He shot 68.

“I played really well this week,” said Ko. “Unfortunately, the last shot was not good and I lost. However, I played hard, and congratulations to Haeran.”

Ko was also 4-under after his first four holes, making eagles on Nos. 2 and 4. The 15-time LPGA Tour winner was on the other side of the road, closing with four straight strokes.

Ryu won $570,000 in the $3.8 million event. He won the NW Arkansas tournament last year as an LPGA Tour rookie and has won five times on the Korean tour.

“I am very happy because the first win is very difficult, but the second one is also difficult,” said Ryu.

China’s Ruixin Liu was a stroke back after a second-straight 64, the lowest score of his LPGA Tour career. He birdied the first seven holes on Sunday — three days after making a quadruple bogey on his opening hole of the tournament.

“I can’t believe it’s true because I started with 9 off the bat, I didn’t think I could make the cut,” said Liu. “So, I’m very thankful that I had a tee time on Saturday, and to get the best score of my career two times in a row is amazing.”

Allsen Corpuz and Jeeno Thitikul shot 67 to tie for fourth at 13 under. Jennifer Kupcho (65) was 11 under along with Celine Borge (63), Ariya Jutanugarn (65) and Arpichaya Yubol (66).

Corpuz and Kuphco could top the US in the final game before the Solheim Cup and Europe on September 13-15 in Virginia.

“The biggest thing is seeing some putts fall, seeing the progress there,” Kupcho said. “Obviously, that’s the most important part. I feel like with clutch putts at Solheim especially during play, it will help to have that momentum.”

Tour and event organizers said Sunday that the first-year tournament will return to TPC Boston next year.