Six-time LPGA Tour winner So Yeon Ryu has announced that she plans to retire following The Chevron Championship in April.
The 34-year-old first joined the Tour in 2012, but Ryu captured her first LPGA Tour title and major victory at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor’s East Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. As a rookie, she won the 2012 Dana Open in Toledo, Ohio and ultimately earned Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors at the end of her inaugural season.
The Republic of Korea native didn’t win again on the LPGA Tour until 2014, when she took home the CPKC Women’s Open title, and she then experienced another winless drought the next two seasons, finally breaking through in 2017, arguably one of her strongest seasons on the LPGA Tour.
Ryu won her second major title that year, defeating Lexi Thompson in a four-hole playoff at The Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club. A few months later, the two-time major champion took home the 2017 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G title, a victory that propelled her to the top of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Ryu was the third player from the Republic of Korea to ascend to No. 1 in the world, following in the footsteps of Jiyai Shin and Inbee Park, and is one of five Koreans that have held the position since the creation of the Rolex Rankings. She has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 19 career weeks.
Her sixth season on the LPGA Tour also saw Ryu earn the 2017 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award and 2017 Rolex Player of the Year honors.
The next year saw Ryu win the 2018 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give by two shots over Caroline Masson, and she hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since, earning 20 top-10 finishes in that span.
Ryu last competed on the LPGA Tour at the 2023 BMW Ladies Championship, finishing in a tie for 68th. She has no scheduled starts before The Chevron Championship, which will be held at The Club at Carlton Woods in Houston, Texas from April 18-21.
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