Haeran Ryu cards first 60 in major championship history at Evian

Two weeks after Haeran Ryu won her first major at the KPMG Women’s PGA, she made golf history.

The South Korean carded the lowest round in major championship history, an 11-under 60, in the third round of the Amundi Evian Championship. Her eagle putt to shoot the second 59 in LPGA history came up just short, dead center on the par-5 18th.

Incredibly, Ryu had no idea what she was shooting until she counted up the scorecard on the 18th green. Her face said it all. She looked over at her caddie in disbelief and added them all up again, holding up two fingers as if to say, “I was that close to a 59.”

“I was shocked,” said Ryu of the end result.

Going into the last hole 10 under par, Ryu hit her tee shot on the closing par 5 left in the trees and got a fortuitous bounce back in the fairway, setting up a 5-iron from 173 yards. She hit the green in two and faced 30 feet for legendary major status.

Ryu’s first birdie of the day came on the downhill par-3 second. She hit the flagstick and nearly made an ace on the par-3 fifth and then holed out for eagle the sixth hole. Birdies followed on 7, 9, 10, 14, 15 and 17 before setting up the memorable finish.

There have been three 61s in major championship history and all three came at Evian. Hyo Joo Kim was the first to do it in 2014. In 2021, two players shot 61, Jeongeun Lee6 (second round) and Leona Maguire (final round).

Ryu’s 11 under performance puts her three shots clear of the field heading into the final round.

This story is being updated.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Haeran Ryu cards first 60 in major championship history at Evian