By: Max Bechtoldt
After a Thursday with somewhat muted scoring, and a leaderboard tighter than any we’ve seen this season, Haeran Ryu’s startling second round -10 62 has put her in dominant position.
The round one lead at the FM Championship, held by Marina Alex, had nine players within one stroke, at the current moment, nobody is within five strokes of Ryu, who is -13 for the tournament.
Ryu played about as elite as you can on Friday. She hit 12 fairways, while driving the ball an incredible 319 yards on average. She hit all 18 greens, ones that are relatively small. When she got on the green? She had just 26 putts. Absolutely dominant and flawless play from the 23-year-old from South Korea.
Ryu won the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2023, thanks in large part to her win in Arkansas, and has continued her strong play this season. Despite not having a win this season, she is still No. 6 in the CME Standings. Ryu has eight top-10 finishes this year, five of those are top-fives. She pretty securely holds the distinction of having the best season for a player without a win.
The afternoon wave still has to play, but it is hard to imagine anyone getting close to the -13 mark set by Ryu.
