IVINS, Utah — After carding a flawless 8-under 64 in the final round at Black Desert Resort, it was ultimately Haeran Ryu who collected her third career LPGA Tour victory at the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion, winning by a whopping five shots over Germany’s Esther Henseleit and People’s Republic of China native Ruoning Yin.

Playing in the last group alongside Henseleit and Yin, Ryu began the final day in Ivins, Utah, with a two-stroke lead over Yin and a three-shot advantage over Henseleit after posting a 54-hole total of 18-under. Ryu got off to a hot start, grabbing a birdie right away on the par-4 1st hole to move to 19-under, three ahead of Yin and four ahead of Henseleit.

Henseleit then gave a spirited chase, making birdie on the par-3 3rd hole to get to 16-under and moving to 17-under after picking up another birdie on the fifth hole, now two behind Ryu. Ryu birdied the par-4 6th hole to move to 20-under, and the Olympic silver medalist matched her, remaining two shots back of the two-time LPGA Tour winner at 18-under total.

All three players birdied the par-5 7th hole, moving Ryu to 21-under and giving her a two-shot lead over Henseleit at 19-under and a four-shot lead over Yin, who was at 17-under at that point in the round. A Henseleit birdie on the par-5 9th hole, however, reduced Ryu’s lead to one as the final group made the turn at Black Desert Resort.

But the back nine is where Ryu really caught fire in her pursuit of a third LPGA Tour title. She birdied the par-3 11th hole to climb to 22-under, now two strokes ahead of Henseleit, and Ryu then eagled the par-5 13th hole to move to 24-under, four strokes in front of both Henseleit and Yin at 20-under, the latter of whom was trying to make a late, back-nine charge at the Republic of Korea native.

Yin birdied 14 to get to 21-under for the tournament and move within three of Ryu with four holes to play, but Ryu once again widened the gap between her and the chasers with a birdie on the par-3 15th hole, now sitting at 25-under and four strokes ahead of Yin with three holes remaining. Yin then made a double bogey on 16 to fall out of the winning conversation, and even though she fought as hard as she could, Henseleit just couldn’t seem to get any momentum going coming down the stretch, parring every hole on the back nine at Black Desert Resort except the last.

After parring 17 to remain at 25-under, Ryu then came to the 18th hole with a five-shot lead over Henseleit and Yin and ultimately slammed the door shut on her first win of the 2025 season with a birdie on the closing par 5, finishing at 26-under overall and becoming the third Korean to win on Tour this season alongside A Lim Kim and Hyo Joo Kim.

“It was so incredible day again because I think I have a new record for my golf because the best score on the final round, end score was 23, so today is 26, so it's amazing,” said Ryu. “Then I make some eagles for the three days in a row, so that's really, really good again. I think this week it's so happy.”

This is Ryu’s first win on the LPGA Tour since she captured the inaugural FM Championship title after defeating former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko in a playoff at TPC Boston in August 2024. This year is now her third consecutive winning season on the LPGA Tour, as Ryu also picked up a victory in 2023 when she became a Rolex First-Time Winner as a rookie at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, a win that helped her secure Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors at the end of that year.

Her triumph in the Utah desert makes Ryu the 23rd Korean to win at least three times on the LPGA Tour, and she is the first player to meet that benchmark since A Lim Kim won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions earlier this year, ironically a title that the major champion also earned in wire-to-wire fashion.

And while all of those accolades are accomplishments that Ryu should be more than proud of, the 24-year-old will likely be the most pleased with her ability to have bounced back from a disappointing finish at The Chevron Championship, where she squandered her 54-hole co-lead after a carding final-round 76 at The Club at Carlton Woods. Her win in Utah marks the first time that Ryu has successfully converted a 54-hole lead on the LPGA Tour, making this victory taste that much sweeter for the young talent.

“It's hard. This is the best one because my score is pretty good this week. This is the best one, I think,” Ryu said when asked where this win ranked among her three victories. “Last week on final round, my shot is so bad there, so I just call my Korean coach every day. I ask him, ‘What's the problem? What's it mean? What's the problem for me?’ He said, ‘No problem, Haeran. Just keep focus and keep calm and more trust your golf.’

“That's good for me. And then more consistence my shot and came back to win here.”

Henseleit and Yin both tied for second at 21-under total after carding rounds of 66 and 67, respectively, on Sunday at Black Desert Resort. The T2 finish ties Henseleit’s second-best career finish on the LPGA Tour, and it’s the second consecutive week that Yin has found herself in that position at the conclusion of 72 holes on the LPGA Tour.

Epson Tour graduate Yan Liu earned her second consecutive top-10 result in the Beehive State, finishing solo fourth at 19-under overall at the Black Desert Championship. Two-time LPGA Tour winner Rio Takeda rounded out the top five at 18-under overall, and three players finished in a tie for sixth at 16-under, including Australian Stephanie Kyriacou, who made an albatross on the par-5 18th hole at Black Desert Resort to post a 5-under 67 in the final round.

Haeran Ryu Wins Third LPGA Tour Title at Inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion

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