Haeran Ryu Dominates the Black Desert Championship
IVINS, Utah – Haeran Ryu regained control of the Black Desert Championship with an eagle on the 11th hole, shooting a 68 (-4) to maintain a two-stroke lead in the LPGA Tour’s return to Utah after more than 60 years.Ryu will seek his seventh consecutive victory in a tournament, a streak that began when he was 18 years old in the Korea LPGA.
Her biggest challenge could be Ruoning Yin, the former Women’s PGA champion, who made 10 birdies at Black Desert, scoring a 62, the best score of the tournament and getting within two strokes of Ryu.
Ryu started with a two-stroke lead and saw several players briefly catch up.
One of them was Somi Lee, who had initial birdies before her round was complicated by a double bogey on the 6th hole and no birdies until the last hole, which took her out of the competition.
Esther Henseleit, from Germany, also reached Ryu momentarily, but the 24-year-old Korean player, from 82 yards away, achieved an eagle on the 11th hole.
Henseleit made a 10-foot birdie on the 17th hole to get within one stroke. However, her tee shot went into the lava rocks, forcing her to replay the shot. Her chip for par from near the green left her 3 feet away, but she missed a seemingly easy putt, making a double bogey. This gave the German a 68, leaving her three strokes behind.
“I guess you have to think about the good shots you made,” Henseleit said.
Esther Henseleit
Ryu had the opportunity to increase his lead, but missed a birdie putt from a similar distance to Henseleit’s.
Ryu, who shared the lead after 54 holes at the Chevron Championship last week before closing with a 76, is at 18 under par (198). Her last victory last year was also at an LPGA debut tournament, the FM Championship.
Yin, who missed the chance to win another major last week after three-putting in a five-way playoff at the Chevron, started the day eight strokes back and shot her 62 just as the final group was reaching the 9th hole.
“I’m going to keep saying this: Stay in the present and the past is the past,” Yin said. “You can’t guarantee that every day will be as good as today, but you have to keep trying to have a great day.”
Ruoning Yin
Due to the rain forecast, the tee times for Sunday’s final round will be moved up.
