Haeran Ryu defeated Brooke Henderson on the first playoff hole to win the 2026 Amundi Evian Championship. This is her second major win of the season, after winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the end of June.
Going into the final round, Ryu held a three-shot lead over Aki Iwai and a seven-shot lead over Henderson due to her record-setting third round. Ryu’s round of 60 (-11), where she missed an eagle putt for 59, was the lowest round in major history.
Sunday was much different for Ryu, as she struggled to find the same form displayed the first three days. She made a bogey on the par-3 8th and a birdie on the par-5 18th for a round of 71 (E). With Ryu leaving the door open, Henderson seized the opportunity. Henderson shot a front nine of 30 (-5), making a hole-in-one on the 8th hole. She matched birdies with bogeys on the back but forced a playoff with an eagle on the 18th hole. Unfortunately for Henderson, her comeback fell just short after she made par to Ryu’s birdie on the first playoff hole.
This is Ryu’s second major win of this season and her career. She has tied Meg Mallon with the shortest time between major championship wins at 13 days. After the round, Ryu could not believe she was a major winner once again.
“Feels unreal right now. Yeah, because today shots were pretty good, but my putting is too bad today. And then I was just thinking like, oh, God, please go in the hole, please. Every hole, I just feel like I pray. But on the last hole and the birdie hole there, just for thanks, God, I can say that part. And yeah, feels like just an unreal dream right now,” she said.
With her win, Ryu earned $1.4 million in prize money and 650 CME Globe points. She moved into second place behind Nelly Korda in the standings.
After a T3 finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a runner-up at the Amundi Evian Championship, Henderson was happy with her performance.
“Yeah, played awesome today, which is really exciting. To finish second in a major and third a couple weeks ago, definitely my game is in a really good spot…I am happy with how I played. Lots of birdies and eagles, which is really fun,” she said.
Still searching for her first major, Jeeno Thitikul finished at T10 this week. This is her 11th career top-ten finish in a major.
Both the LPGA and LET are off next week, with the next tournament at the ISPS HANDA Scottish Open. Lottie Woad will look to defend her title where she won her first event as a professional last year.
