Haeran Ryu is at it again at the Maybank Championship. The 23-year-old Republic of Korea native carded a bogey-free, 8-under 64 on Thursday at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to sit alone in second and one shot back of 18-hole leader Mao Saigo after day one in Malaysia.

After carding two pars to get off to a steady start, Ryu picked up a pair of back-to-back birdies on the par-5 3rd and par-3 4th holes to move to 2-under. She birdied again on the par-4 7th hole, parring eight and nine to turn in 33 at 3-under.

Ryu collected her fourth birdie of the round on the par-3 11th hole and then made two more sets of back-to-back birdies on holes 13, 14, 17 and 18 to ultimately post at 8-under and sit near the top of the leaderboard once again in Kuala Lumpur.

“I don't remember my play today because today my body feels not good, so I just want a good finish,” said Ryu, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in round one. “8-under is pretty good. Today, my putter is good, better than last week. I made a lot of birdies. I'm so happy.”

It’s the fourth time this season that Ryu has recorded a round of 64 or better on the LPGA Tour. She carded a 64 in the third round of the CPKC Women’s Open in late July and then posted her career-low round of 62 on day two of the FM Championship in August. The 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year followed that up with another 64 in the final round at TPC Boston to get into a playoff with Jin Young Ko, one that she ultimately won to earn her second career LPGA Tour title just outside of Boston, Mass.

That victory is one of 11 top-10 finishes that Ryu has racked up this season on the LPGA Tour, most recently tying for sixth last week at the BMW Ladies Championship in her home country. Three of those results have come in major championships, as Ryu finished solo fifth at both The Chevron Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship and tied for ninth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club.

With just a few events remaining on the 2024 LPGA Tour schedule, Ryu is, of course, hoping to pick up one more victory as she wraps up her second season as an LPGA Tour member. But she would be more than content with firing more rounds deep in the red like she did on Thursday at the Maybank Championship and is hoping to do just that as she continues the solid stretch of golf that she has had this year with the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship looming large next month.

“It's golf so hard and so stressful for me,” said Ryu when asked how she manages to stay patient during a long stretch of golf. “Today is really good, but tomorrow is a little different (than) today. I just (want to be) more comfortable (with) my shot and putt. That's my mindset.”

Haeran Ryu Hanging Around Top of Leaderboard Once Again at the Maybank Championship

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