So Yeon Ryu

She picked up the game of golf in second grade as an extracurricular activity at school. When she's not playing golf, So Yeon enjoys music as she was an avid violinist at a young age. In February 2013, Ryu earned a degree in Physical Education from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, while playing full-time on the LPGA Tour. Top three things on her bucket list include going to Africa on a trip to help children, backpacking around Europe, and taking cooking classes.
As an amateur, she finished fourth in stroke-play qualifying in the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur but lost in the first round of match play. She was a medalist at the 2007 Queen Sirikit Cup and helped Korea win the team title. She captured the individual title at the 2006 Asian Games while leading South Korea to the team title, shooting rounds of 66-66-64-67 for a 29-under par total and a nine-shot victory.
Ryu is a seven-time winner of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), where she was a rookie in 2008.
In 2008, Ryu won her first competition on the Korea LPGA Tour at the 2008 Sports Seoul Open.
In 2009, she won five events during the Korea LPGA Tour season, with four wins coming within five weeks. The wins came at the Doosan Match Play Championship, Woori Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, MBC Tour S-Oil Champions Invitational, and the High1 Resort Cup SBS Charity Ladies Open.
In 2010, Ryu won the season-opening KLPGA event at the Orient China Ladies Open. On the LPGA Tour, T-25th at the U.S. Women's Open and T-12th at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship, her best finish on the LPGA Tour to date.
In 2011, Ryu defeated Hee Kyung Seo in a three-hole playoff at the U.S. Women's Open to earn her first victory in the United States and her 2012 LPGA Tour card.
2012 Notes: Played in 24 LPGA events, made 23 cuts and earned $1,282,673 (sixth on the money list). That year, she earned her lone victory in the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic but placed inside the top 10 15 additional times en route to winning the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year honor.
2013 Notes: Yeon made an impressive 23 cuts out of 24 events and finished fifth on the Tour money list. She had 10 top-10 finishes, including two runner-ups at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. She ended the year ranked in the top-10 in five statistical categories: rounds under par (third), scoring average (fourth), rounds in the 60s (fourth), top-10 finishes (fourth) and birdies (sixth.
2014 Notes: Ryu was fifth on the money list with $1,468,804 and fifth in CME points with a Canadian Women's Open win. She shot 23-under 265 to beat Na Yeon Choi by two. She teamed with Inbee Park to win the team competition by 28 strokes in the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship, a Ladies European Tour event held in China. They beat Shanshan Feng and Xiyu Lin of China. She was T-5th at the U.S. Women's Open. She was 2nd at the Marathon Classic in Toledo, finishing one back of winner Lydia Ko, who shot a final-round 65 to overtake Ryu.
2015 Notes: She made the cut in all 25 of her starts and had 10 top-10s as she ranked 8th on the LPGA money list and 10th in CME points. While winless on the LPGA Tour, she won the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship on the LET in March, beating Inbee Park by one shot. Ryu and Park won the team competition for South Korea for the second straight year. She had two runner-up finishes on the LPGA Tour, a solo 2nd at the Kingsmill Championship, two strokes behind Minjee Lee, and a T-2nd at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, nine back of Lydia Ko. She finished T-3 twice at the RICOH British Women's Open and the Canadian Pacific Women's Open, where she was one shot out of a playoff.
2016 Notes: Played in 24 LPGA events making 24 cuts, with 11 top-tens. She has been very consistent and reeled off a stretch of six top-10s in nine starts, including a T-4th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. She was T-2nd at the Evian Championship, four back of winner In Gee Chun. Ryu was T-3rd at the Toto Japan Classic, three back of winner Shanshan Feng. She had her second runner-up finish of the season at the CME Group Tour Championship, shooting 17-under 271 to finish two shots back of winner Charley Hull. Was 10th on the money list with $1,259,651 and 8th in CME points.
2017 Notes: Played in 23 LPGA events making 21 cuts. Won multiple times in a season for the first time in her career and posted 12 top-10 finishes en route to sharing Rolex Player of the Year honors with Sung Hyun Park (the first time two players tied for Rolex Player of the Year in the 51-year history of the award). Started her season with a 2nd at the Honda Thailand, shooting four rounds in the 60s, 5 back of winner Amy Yang. She had her second runner-up finish of the season and her 4th straight top-10, with a T-2nd at the Kia Classic, where she was 6 back of Mirim Lee after a final-round 66. She won the ANA Inspiration, beating Lexi Thompson in a playoff after Thompson was penalized 4 strokes during Sunday's round for an infraction she committed on Saturday. Ryu won with a birdie on the 1st playoff hole for her 2nd major victory. She was T-56th at the Volvik Championship, ending her streak of 11 straight top-10 finishes on Tour. She missed the cut at the ShopRite Classic, ending her streak of consecutive cuts made at 64, dating to her withdrawal from the 2014 Evian Championship after one round. She won the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship for her 2nd win of the season and moved to #1 on the Rolex Rankings. She shot a tournament-record 61 in round two to finish at 18-under 195 and beat Moriya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang by 2 shots. Was T-3rd at the U.S. Women's Open, finishing 4 back of winner Sung Hyun Park. Didn't have another top-10 until October, when she was T-8th at the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship. The next week was T-3rd at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship, finished T-13th at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, then was T-33rd at the Toto Japan Classic. The thing notable about the week was she lost the #1 ranking after holding on to it for 18 weeks. Ryu finished the year 2nd on the money list with $1,981,593.
2018 Notes: Played in 23 LPGA Tour events making 23 cuts with seven top-10 finishes. Made more than $1 million in season earnings for the seventh consecutive year as she finished 6th with $1,438,850 in earnings. Was 7th on the CME points list.
Ryu did attend the Winter Olympics in her home country. Was T-7th at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and was 4th at the Hugel-JTBC L.A. Open. Started with a first-round 64 at the Meijer LPGA Classic and went on to win by 2 shots over Caroline Masson. Two weeks later at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship was beaten by Sung Hyun Park on the second hole of a playoff to finish T-2nd. At the Ricoh Women's British Open was 3rd, 4 shots back of winner Georgia Hall. The season's last event was T-3rd at the CME Group Tour Championship 5 shots back of winner Lexi Thompson. Was T-10th at the Evian Championship, after that made a trip to Japan and won the Japan Women's Open by three over Nasa Hataoka. She was a member of the South Korean team in the UL International Crown and was 3-0-1 in the matches as Korea won the championship. Ryu was 3-0 in four-ball and halved her singles match against Lexi Thompson. In the season's last event, finished T-3rd at the CME Group Tour Championship, five shots back of winner Lexi Thompson.
2019 Notes: Played in 20 LPGA Tour events making 16 cuts with five top-ten finishes. Was 23rd on the money list with $815,768 in earnings. Was 33rd on the CME points list. Finished T-9th at the LPGA Lotte Championship. Was T-2nd at the U.S. Women's Open, she was two shots back of winner Jeongeun Lee6. Then was T-9th at the Meijer LPGA Classic, T-10th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and ended her season with a T-9th at the CME Group Tour Championship. Did play on the Japan LPGA in her title defense at the Japan Women's Open, finished T-2nd four shots back of winner Nasa Hataoka.
2020 Notes: Played in just 5 LPGA Tour events making 5 cuts with two runner-up finishes. Was T-2nd at the ISPS Handa Vic Open, Ryu lost to Hee Young Park in a three-woman playoff. During the break for COVID-19 returned to Korea and played in six Korean LPGA events. She won the Korea Women's Open and donated her entire winnings of $200,000 to the coronavirus relief fund. She also was T-5th at the Hana Financial Group Championship. She was 13th on the Korean LPGA money list. On her return to the LPGA Tour, she was T-2nd at the VOA Texas Shootout, two shots back of winner Angela Stanford. Finished the season with a T-20th at the U.S. Women's Open and T-13th at the CME Group Tour Championship.
2021 Notes: Played in 20 LPGA events making 19 cuts with six top-ten finishes. Was 22nd on the CME Points list and 29th on the money list with earnings of $687,086. Was T-5th at the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA L.A. Open four shots back of winner Brooke Henderson. Her next event was 6th at the HSBC Women's Champions, five back of winner Hyo Joo Kim. A week later was T-3rd at the Honda LPGA Thailand, two shots back of winner Ariya Jutanugarn. Was T-3rd again at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, this time six back of winner Matilda Castren. Her missed cut at the AIG Women's Open, ended a streak of 29 cuts made around the world and 22 straight cuts made on the LPGA Tour. Was T-8th at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and T-6th at the Cognizant Founders Cup. Finished the season T-15th at the CME Group Tour Championship.
2022 Notes: Best finish T-8th at the Amundi Evian Championship.