Haeran Ryu Rules the Desert Once Again
Korean star captures third LPGA title with wire-to-wire brilliance at the inaugural Black Desert Championship
Seoul, Korea - Haeran Ryu conquered the Utah desert with a performance as polished as the red rock backdrops surrounding Black Desert Resort. The 24-year-old from Suwon, Korea, became the inaugural champion of the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion, claiming her third LPGA Tour title with a wire-to-wire victory that left little room for doubt.
Ryu opened strong and never looked back, setting new 36-, 54-, and 72-hole tournament records. Her relentless consistency across all four rounds not only earned her a winner’s cheque of $450,000 but also cemented her position as one of the LPGA’s steadiest climbers. With this win, her 2025 earnings jumped to $803,685, and she passed the $5 million mark in career earnings.
This was no sudden surge; Ryu has now won in three consecutive LPGA seasons—2023, 2024, and now 2025. It’s a quiet dominance, one built on poise rather than flash. “This one feels different,” she said after her win. “The first of anything is always meaningful. I’m proud of how I stayed composed all week.”
Guided by caddie Martin Bozek, Ryu fended off all challengers and became only the second player this season to win wire-to-wire without sharing a lead—joining fellow Korean A Lim Kim. She also joins Kim and Hyo Joo Kim as Korean winners on the LPGA in 2025, underlining the strength of the Korean contingent on the world stage.
Ryu’s rise has been steady. From medallist honours at LPGA Qualifying in 2022 to this week’s breakthrough in Utah, she has built a career on capitalising when it matters. The win also brings her 2025 total to six cuts made in eight starts, with one top-10 in addition to this win.
The Black Desert Championship, meanwhile, couldn’t have hoped for a finer first champion—stylish, serene, and supremely skilled. For Ryu, the circle is just beginning to widen.