Despite an underwhelming first couple of rounds, Korean star Haeran Ryu flashed her incredible skill in the third round of the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Ryu, who had a decent performance in Orlando at the Tournament of Champions, started slow this week, which is unusual for her. She shot a +2 74 in the opening round, where despite good ball-striking numbers, she had 36 putts. That was cleaned up a bit in the second round, where she shot a -4 68, but with three bogeys.
In the third round, Ryu was incredible. She hit all 14 fairways and hit every single green on the course. While the putter kept it from being the low score of the day, she still shot a -6 66 to put herself in the top 20 heading into the final round.
Ryu is a popular pick to be one of the leaders for Player of the Year in 2024. Through two years on tour she has two wins and a startling 19 top-10 finishes. In 2024 alone she had 13 top-10s and toward the end of the year had top-six finishes in 8/10 starts.
Ryu has been known as a ball-striking expert. While her short game metrics do lag behind a bit, she finished first in strokes gained tee-to-green in 2024.
Currently, Ryu sits 13 strokes back of the dominant Angel Yin and is probably out of contention for a win. But it is a good step for one of the LPGA Tour’s most consistent players.
