NORTHWEST ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

VIDEO: Topping it off

Ryu No. 1 in money, Rogers, world

So Yeon Ryu closed with a final round 2-under 69 to hold off fellow South Korean player Amy Yang to win the Northwest Arkansas Championship on Sunday at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. Ryu, who entered the round with a five-stroke lead, became the LPGA’s first two-time winner this season.
So Yeon Ryu closed with a final round 2-under 69 to hold off fellow South Korean player Amy Yang to win the Northwest Arkansas Championship on Sunday at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. Ryu, who entered the round with a five-stroke lead, became the LPGA’s first two-time winner this season.

ROGERS -- The field chased So Yeon Ryu on Sunday at Pinnacle Country Club, but no one came close to catching the South Korean.

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Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gaze

So Yeon Ryu followed up her second-round 10-under 61, which was a tournament record, with a 2-under 69 on Sunday to capture the Northwest Arkansas Championship.

Ryu, 26, turned the final round of the 11th LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship into a victory march, shooting a 2-under 69 to beat Amy Yang and Moriya Jutanugarn by two shots to claim the $300,000 first-place check as well collecting a gift basket of records and feats.

Sunday's 2-under 69 was not as flashy as the record-setting 10-under 61 Ryu shot Saturday to open a five-shot lead, but her 18-under final score surpassed the previous tournament record of 17 under set by Lydia Ko last year.

The victory also lifted Ryu from No. 3 to No. 1 in the Rolex World Golf rankings and established her as the first LPGA player to score multiple victories in 2017.

She leads the 2017 LPGA money list with $1,212,820, and her fifth victory lifts her career earnings to $7.8 million.

There were a few who had a shot at catching Ryu, but none could get closer than two shots. She clinched her two-shot victory with a par on the 18th.

Ryu heads into this week's PGA Women's Championship at Olympia Fields, Ill., as the world's top-ranked player, catapulting past Ariya Jutanugarn, who did not play this week after taking over No. 1 two weeks ago, and defending champion Ko, who finished tied for 25th after a 3-under 68 left her 8 under for the tournament

"I just tried not to do anything special, tried not to think too much and do what I did the first two rounds," said Ryu, who lost in a playoff to Inbee Park to finish as runnerup here in 2013. "To be honest, compared to the last two days, today's game wasn't great game, so I really had to keep focused."

Yang made birdies on the 15th and 16th and another on the 18th to get to 16 under with playing partner Moriya Jutanugarn, who got to the same mark after an eagle on the 18th.

Ryu, the 2017 ANA Inspiration major champion, bounced back from her only bogey of the tournament at the par-3 11th to make birdie at the tough par-4 12th when her second shot barely caught the green, leading to a 6-foot birdie.

That birdie would be the last one for Ryu, who finished with six pars in a row, but finished the tournament with 16 birdies and the lone bogey.

"Even though I didn't have a super low round, 2 under is still a good round," Ryu said.

Yang dropped back to 14 under when she made bogey on the 13th, then followed with another one at the par-5 14th when her second shot found the pond in front of the green. She mounted a final charge with birdies on three of the final four holes.

"I putted so good this week, all week, all day," Yang said. "So, I'm pretty happy where I finished before the majors. [I] feel good about going into next week."

Minjee Lee and Stacy Lewis were within striking distance, but each stumbled down the stretch.

Michelle Wie, the 2014 U.S. Women's Open champion, finished strong, shooting a 3-under 32 on the back nine for a 64 that was good enough to tie Lewis for fourth place at 13 under.

Lewis, the former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville All-American who hasn't won on the LPGA Tour since the 2014 Northwest Arkansas Championship, started the round five strokes behind Ryu but couldn't get any closer. Lewis missed a short birdie putt on No. 2, then watched Ryu, her playing partner, make a 25-footer to go ahead by six strokes.

Lewis made a 10-footer for birdie to get to 12 under on the fourth, but there were nothing but pars for the remainder of the front nine with Ryu getting to 18 under with a birdie when she drove the par-4 10th and two-putted.

Lewis also birdied the 10th, but found the water on the 11th, leading to her first bogey of the round and another bogey on the 13th moved her to 11 under, ending any chance of her hoisting the tournament championship again.

Lewis used the backstop behind the 18th green when her second shot funneled back to within 2 feet of the hole, leading to eagle at the par-5 and a 13-under finish to highlight her final round.

"I know how to play this golf course better than anybody, just couldn't quite get the putts to fall," Lewis said. "The shot on 18 was really cool. I thought I pulled it a little bit too much, but got a nice little kick off the bunker and knew the backstop was there. It would have been cool if it went in, but just a nice way to finish, finish off a good hole."

Moriya Jutanugarn made 12 consecutive pars after birdies on two of the first four holes got her to 13 under. A birdie on the 17th and eagle on the 18th moved her into the tie with Yang for second.

"A lot of good chances out there that I [gave] myself," said Jutanugarn who had her fourth consecutive top-10 finish. "I [got] a lot of confidence this week and hopefully [can] keep playing solid and finish in another good week."

Lee was 3 under through 7 to get to 11 under, made birdie at the 13th, but a quadruple-bogey 9 at the 14th sent her to 8 under and tumbling out of contention. She would finish 12 under and tied for sixth with Park.

Mina Harigae's 9-under 62 was the talk of the morning pairings. Harigae, a 27-year-old from Monterey, Calif., made 7 birdies and an eagle to reach 10 under and finish tied for 10th.

"It's really nice to see my name up top finally, and my game finally coming together," said Harigae, who hadn't finished higher than 31st this year before Sunday. "I was feeling really relaxed the out there. My caddie and I were having a lot of fun. Everything was flowing, basically."

American Marina Alex had two eagles Sunday, one a hole-in-one at the sixth, and finished tied for eighth at 11 under.

Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) had her best Northwest Arkansas Championship finish. Her 67 left her tied for 10th, topping her tie for 29th showing in 2015, the third and final year she played as an amateur.

Sports on 06/26/2017

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