The 13th hole (par 4) features a steep uphill slope. Yu Hae-ran's tee shot found the rough. After struggling to get the ball out, she put it on the green with her third shot. Perhaps the pressure was heavy, as it came at a moment when she was contending for the title. She three-putted for a double bogey. The gap with leader Lottie Woad of England suddenly widened to three strokes, and the momentum of her chase vanished.
Yu Hae-ran mounted a fierce charge early in the final round of the LPGA Tour's Kroger Queen City Championship (total prize money $2 million), but mistakes from the middle of the round onward kept her from crossing the winning threshold.
Yu shot a 3-under 67 with six birdies, one bogey, and one double bogey in the final fourth round of the tournament held Saturday (local time) at Kenwood Country Club (par 70) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She finished alone in second place at 10-under 270 total, two strokes behind Woad, who won at 12-under 268.
Starting the day in third place, four strokes behind leader Woad, Yu launched a sharp pursuit by piling up five birdies on the front nine alone. By the end of the front nine, Yu was tied with Woad for the lead. But she ran out of steam on the back nine. After dropping a stroke at the 10th hole (par 4), she gave away two more strokes with a painful mistake at the 13th. Woad also lost a stroke at the 13th, and after Yu birdied the 14th hole (par 5), the gap narrowed back to one stroke. However, Woad sank a long birdie putt at the 17th hole (par 4), while Yu missed her birdie putt at the 18th hole (par 3), leaving no further chance to catch up.
Yu, who debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2023 and has three career wins, failed to claim her fourth title but recorded her best result of this season. "I'm satisfied with the great play on the front nine, but I made mistakes on the back nine," Yu said after the round. "I've played in many tournaments this season. I'll return to Korea, watch baseball, and take a rest."
Yu plans to stay in Korea for about a week after returning to check her swing in preparation for the U.S. Women's Open, the season's second major. The U.S. Women's Open begins on June 4.
Tournament winner Woad added another victory about 10 months after her win at the ISPS Handa Scottish Women's Open in July last year. It was her second career win. The winner's purse is $300,000 (about 450 million won).
Elsewhere, Ko Jin-young collected five birdies to finish at 7-under, tied for 5th. Yoon Yi-na finished at 4-under, tied for 12th. Choi Un-jeong, Choi Hye-jin, and Jeon In-ji were among those tied for 21st at 2-under. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand finished 7th at 6-under, while World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States finished tied for 8th at 5-under.
