Big start, Big Finish for Ryu
Women’s world No 1 Ryu So-yeon is focused on her putting as she hopes to bookend her season by winning the final major of 2017 at the Evian Championship in France next month.
Ryu won the opening major at the ANA Inspiration in the California desert five months ago - an event best remembered for the four-stroke penalty imposed on Lexi Thompson after a TV viewer reported the American had incorrectly replaced her ball after marking it on a green during the third round.
Thompson subsequently lost a playoff to Ryu, who later rose to No 1, a position she is getting used to after two months at the top.
Ryu has made progress on the greens since starting to work last year with former British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch, one of the great putters of his generation, but her form is still a day-to-day proposition.
She played her way into contention at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open last week, but could not close out the deal, eventually finishing equal 12th.
“I couldn’t (win) because putting was not great enough,” the 27-year-old South Korean said in a teleconference on Wednesday.
“Until Saturday, putting was just okay, it was like B. But the last round, my putting was not even C then. I just lost an opportunity.”
Fortunately for Rye, majors more often than not reward the best ballstrikers.
“I think the majors, it’s more important to not make a bogey instead of make a lot of birdies, because they set the golf course up to not (allow) too low scores,” she said.