Ryu So-Yeon Clinches LPGA Rookie of the Year Title

With less than three weeks and three events left in the season, Korean Ryu So-yeon has clinched the LPGA Rookie of the Year title over American Lexi Thompson, according to the LPGA.

Thanks to an astounding 14 top-10 finishes this season, Ryu, 22, already has 1,306 points, too many to be caught by runner-up Thompson who has just 779 points. Ryu won this year’s Jamie Farr Toledo Classic and ranks in the top 10 in seven categories, including birdies, percentage of top-10 finishes and scoring average.

Ryu has been on a hot streak since the age of 16 when she won two gold medals at the Doha Asian Games in the individual and team competitions. Her first win after turning pro at the age of 17 came in 2007 on the US Cactus Tour. She won her first event after joining the Korean LPGA in 2008 but narrowly failed to win the KLPGA’s Rookie of the Year honors.

But she more than made up for that by becoming the KLPGA’s money winner just two years later, earning entry into the 2011 US Women’s Open — which she won for a spot in the LPGA this season.

Ryu is the ninth golfer of Korean descent to be named LPGA Rookie of the Year. Pak Se-ri pioneered the trend in 1998, followed by Kim Mi-hyun in 1999, Han Hee-won in 2001, Ahn Si-hyun in 2004, Lee Seon-hwa in 2006, Korean Brazilian Angela Park in 2007, Shin Ji-yai in 2009, and Seo Hee-kyung in 2011, according to Chosun Ilbo.

“It gives me a great sense of fulfillment, as I couldn’t win the Rookie of the Year award in Korea but I managed to do it in a bigger Tour in the U.S. LPGA,” said Ryu Tuesday.

“I set my goal as winning the Rookie of the Year award this year to prove that my victory at the U.S. Women’s Open last year wasn’t a fluke,” she added. “I want to follow in the footsteps of Yani Tseng, who climbed to the top of the world rankings after winning the same award.”

Ryu recently returned to Korea to complete her degree in sports science at Yonsei University.

“Because I had to miss a lot of classes when I competed in the US, my grade average isn’t that great, so I need to study hard to make sure I graduate on time,” she explained.

But she’ll be crossing the Pacific next week to compete at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico. She will pick up her Rookie of the Year award at the CME Group Titleholders Tournament which begins November 15 in Orlando.