Ryu's 60 gives her Evian lead as Woad stumbles

Haeran Ryu almost made golf history twice in one day.

The 25-year-old from South Korea was standing on the 18th hole at the Evian Championship in France on Saturday when she realized something remarkable. Her 30-foot putt for eagle—meaning the ball goes in the hole from roughly 10 meters away in just two shots—could have given her a 59, one of the rarest scores in professional golf. The putt rolled just past the cup. Still, her 11-under-par round of 60 stands as the lowest ever recorded in any major championship, men's or women's.

"After the putt, I counted my score with my caddie... 'Oh my God, it's 11-under par today'," Ryu said. "It was so amazing. I'm so happy right now."

Ryu's magical round included nine birdies—short putts that barely miss—and one eagle on the par-four sixth hole, which is nearly as rare as the putt she almost made. She now sits at 19 under par for the tournament, three shots ahead of Japan's Akie Iwai. That means if the tournament ended right now, Ryu would win.

But there's one more round to play on Sunday, and Ryu isn't getting ahead of herself. She just captured her first major title last month at the Women's PGA Championship in Minnesota, becoming one of the world's top players at just 25 years old. Now she's on the verge of something even rarer: winning two major championships in three weeks.

"Yeah, that is an amazing dream," Ryu said. "I just want that one to come true, but we have one more day and Akie is a pretty good player. Everybody is so good."

Her record round breaks a mark that had stood at this very tournament. Three players—Hyo Joo Kim in 2014, Jeong-eun Lee6 in 2021, and Leona Maguire also in 2021—all shot 61 at Evian, one stroke worse than Ryu's 60. That's how unusual a score like this is: only a handful of players in major championship history have ever come this close to perfection.

While Ryu's star burned bright, England's Lottie Woad saw her chance at the lead slip away. The 22-year-old world number four carded a one-over par round, falling from first place all the way to a tie for sixth, nine strokes behind Ryu. Canada's Brooke Henderson, a former major champion herself, sits at 12 under par alongside Japan's Mao Saigo after firing a 64 that featured two eagles.

For Ryu, Sunday offers more than just another trophy. It offers proof that her first major wasn't a fluke—that a girl from South Korea who climbed to seventh in the world rankings belongs among the very best the game has ever seen.