LYTHAM ST ANNES, England — Haeran Ryu is already in hot pursuit of a third straight major title following day one play at the AIG Women’s Open.

The Republic of Korea native went around Royal Lytham and St Annes in 66, a 5-under Thursday performance that has her at the top of the heap early through 18 holes in the year’s final major championship.

Playing in her fourth straight AIG Women’s Open, Ryu landed a blow immediately with a birdie on the par-3 first hole, adding another birdie to her tally with a birdie on four to move to 2-under. She then made back-to-back birdies on the par-5 sixth and par-5 seventh holes, ultimately making the turn in 31 at 4-under total.

Haeran hung out on the par train for the first five holes of her second nine, dropping her first shot of the round with a bogey on 15.

But Ryu recovered with a birdie on the par-4 16th hole to get back to 4-under on the day and closed out the first round with a birdie on the 18th hole to post a 5-under 66, a stellar start for an athlete who has already claimed two major championship titles this season.

“Felt so tough today because in the morning before the round is a little rain, so I just think about, ‘Oh, please God it's no rain today,’” said Ryu. “Weather is pretty good. The wind is still hard, but it's pretty good wind today. And my golf is pretty good. I'm so happy to finish the birdie.”

It’s been an incredible year thus far for the 25-year-old, who is currently second in the Race to the CME Globe and third in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Ryu has made 11 cuts in 12 starts and tallied eight top-10 results, two of which were victories in back-to-back majors at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club, where she beat Ina Yoon by two strokes, and The Amundi Evian Championship, where she outlasted Brooke Henderson in a one-hole playoff at Evian Resort Golf Club.

In addition to those two wins, Haeran has come in sixth or better in four other events, including the HSBC Women’s World Championship (6), Fortinet Founders Cup (T5), JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro (T5) and the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G (2).

And while all that success has been fun to enjoy, this year hasn’t come without its challenges for Ryu.

She missed out on teeing it up in the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Riviera Country Club because she needed to return to her native Korea for a minor medical procedure, eventually taking a month off to recuperate before the second half of the 2026 season.

Even though she was obviously disappointed to pull out one of the biggest tournaments in the women’s game, that brief competitive respite has appeared to pay off in spades for the young talent, who has enjoyed some career-defining play as of late.

Thursday’s opening effort in Lancashire, England mimicked the effortlessness that has characterized Ryu’s last two starts on the LPGA Tour. Making six birdies around any links property is an impressive feat, but to do so during one of the game’s most significant events at a venue that’s known for the precariously placed pot bunkers that pepper its fairways shows how much the reassured confidence Haeran has gleaned from this recent stretch of major-winning golf is making a difference for the 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year.

“That's right because before I got the major win it was so much pressure, and I just for sure want to get win in a major,” said Ryu about the carefree attitude she seems to have adopted as of late. “That's why hit it so hard on the golf course, but these days it's more calm and just thought about after the golf. So that's why these days, my golf is pretty good.

“It's so feel free.”

If Haeran can continue to keep the pedal down at Royal Lytham and St Annes, there are plenty of spoils the Korean would enjoy come the conclusion of the final round. She’d lock up the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, an honor Ryu and Nelly Korda have been duking it out for after each winning two majors in 2026.

She would become the first LPGA Tour athlete since her fellow countrywoman Inbee Park in 2013 to win three major titles in a single season and would be just the fifth player to ever do so, alongside Park, Pat Bradley (1986), Mickey Wright (1961) and Babe Zaharias (1950). For context, only two men have ever done so on the PGA Tour—Tiger Woods (2000) and Ben Hogan (1953).

Not to mention, if Ryu were to eventually be crowned champion, she would make up some substantial ground on Korda in the Rolex Player of the Year race, depending upon Nelly’s finish, as Haeran currently trails the Rolex Rankings No. 1 by 73 points.

But Ryu has learned in her four years as an LPGA Tour member is that trying to predict the future with three more rounds of golf upcoming is a pointless exercise. The two-time major winner is more concerned on dealing with this latest challenge at hand—namely another 54 holes around this tricky club—knowing that anything can happen when links golf is concerned.

“Because I felt so hard on this type of course, so that's why I'm not focus for the win,” said Ryu when asked about the history she’d make if the trophy winds up in her hands on Sunday afternoon, “Just enjoy my golf and no stressful too much. Today, score is pretty good, but we have three more days, and this is a major, so I just keep thinking about myself, not win, and keep enjoy on the golf course.”

Haeran Ryu in Hot Pursuit of Third Straight Major Following Day One of AIG Women’s Open

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