Even though she wasn’t the one who ultimately hoisted the MEXICO Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba trophy on Sunday afternoon in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, it was still an incredibly successful week for 2024 Epson Tour graduate Jenny Bae.

Bae is a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season, and after finishing with a four-day total of 6-under at El Camaleón Golf Course, the 23-year-old came in solo second in the inaugural edition of this championship, what is now her career-best finish on the LPGA Tour.

The former University of Georgia Bulldog held the lead after both the second and third rounds, the former of which was the first time in her young tenure that Bae had held a lead of any kind on the LPGA Tour. She began the final round with a one-stroke advantage over her fellow rookies Chisato Iwai and Yahui Zhang at 7-under overall, and Bae bogeyed the first, second and fifth holes at El Camaleón to drop to 4-under, now six strokes behind Iwai, who had birdied four of the first five holes to rapidly climb to 10-under for the tournament.

Bae righted the ship with a birdie on the par-4 6th hole to get back to 5-under and remain six shots behind Iwai, who also birdied six to move to 11-under total. Bae tripped up again with a bogey on the par-4 9th hole and turned in 39 at 4-under overall, pretty much out of the conversation at this point for a victory but still working hard to secure a top-five finish.

As Iwai was running away with her first LPGA Tour title, Bae remained steady, making a birdie on the par-5 13th hole to move to 5-under and then landing another birdie on the par-3 15th to get to 6-under. She erased one of those back-nine birdies with a bogey on 16, but Bae held on and closed out her final round with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole, a late push that moved her one ahead of Haeji Kang into solo second at 6-under overall, six strokes behind champion Iwai.

“I'm pretty happy with this week,” Bae said. “It just tells me that I have a long ways to go, but also I'm getting there, too. So I'm happy. I definitely know what I need to work on for the week off for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to score better at the next tournament.”

A lot was on the line for Bae on Sunday, most significantly a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills next week. But even though she will now have to wait a while to try and improve upon the missed cut she recorded in her major debut at The Chevron Championship last month, Bae couldn’t be more excited to apply the lessons she learned from contending for the MEXICO Riviera Maya Open title to her next experience on the LPGA Tour.

“I definitely realized that I've gotten more patience,” Bae said. “I think that's a really key thing out here, being able to focus within all the stress and pressure. I think that was really good. My short game was a lot better. I was able to rely on the short game, and I needed the up and downs, and so I think that was really good. But I think my game is there. I definitely have a lot of confidence in my game, so I'm excited.”

Bae is currently projected to move from 80th to 33rd in the Race to the CME Globe, an impressive and important jump considering her inaugural LPGA Tour season is already almost halfway gone, and with securing a top-80 position in the season-long point standings is becoming more and more critical with each week that passes. And while becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner would have been the ideal outcome for the Georgia native after the final round in Mexico, the spoils that come with a strong runner-up finish will likely be just as significant for the 23-year-old as the 2025 season reaches its midway point.

But those are future worries for Bae. For now, she will revel in her success at the MEXICO Riviera Maya Open and take pride in what she was able to accomplish on the golf course this week. And after she travels home on Monday and when Tuesday morning rolls around, Bae will get right back to work on her game, hoping to keep this momentum rolling into her next scheduled start at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.

“I'm really happy right now,” Bae said. “Unfortunately, I did miss (the win), but that's completely okay. It's golf. I think getting my first top five, I can go back home feeling satisfied. I hope that it can carry to the next tournament.”

Epson Tour Graduate Jenny Bae Battles For Career-Best LPGA Finish in Mexico

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