Haeran Ryu Breaks Through, Viktor Hovland Wins on Monday, and Dicky Pride Delivers

In this week’s “The Starter,” Haeran Ryu wins her first major championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Viktor Hovland beats Scottie Scheffler in a Monday morning playoff at the Travelers Championship and Dicky Pride holds off Padraig Harrington at the Dick’s Open.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Haeran Ryu’s First Major Was About Staying Present

Haeran Ryu did not win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship because her week started perfectly.

That is what made it so good.

Ryu opened the championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club with a 73 and looked, at least early, like she might be spending the week trying to climb back into relevance rather than chase a major title. That is usually how these weeks go. A slow start in a major can feel like a sentence, especially on a golf course as demanding as Hazeltine.

Instead, Ryu kept playing.

By Sunday night, she was holding the trophy after a final-round 70 and a 13-under total that gave her a two-shot win over Ina Yoon. It was her first major championship victory and the kind of performance that should change how she is viewed in the game.

The numbers are impressive, but the way she got there matters even more. Ryu came from 10 shots back after the opening round, which says a lot about her patience, her belief, and her willingness to let the championship keep coming to her. That is hard to do. Most players know they should stay patient, but knowing that and actually doing it when a major championship feels like it is moving away from you are two very different things.

Hazeltine made the players earn everything. The weather delay on Sunday added another layer, and the course did not suddenly become easy because the greens softened. There was still wind. There was still pressure. There were still long approaches, difficult recoveries, and big moments that asked for full commitment.

Ryu handled those moments better than anyone.

Ina Yoon deserves plenty of credit, too. She opened with a tournament-record 63 and still finished solo second, which shows how good her week was even if Sunday did not end with the trophy. Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber tied for third at 10 under, both giving the leaderboard the kind of depth a major should have.

Nelly Korda’s week will also be part of the larger conversation. She had already won the first two women’s majors of the season and came to Hazeltine with a chance to do something historic. That bid ended with a tie for eighth, and a frustrating weekend on the greens kept her from making the kind of charge that would have changed the championship.

That does not take anything away from Ryu.

This was her week because she refused to let Thursday define it. She stayed close enough, moved when the tournament gave her a window and then closed like a player who was ready for the moment.

That is what major championship golf is supposed to reveal.

The PGA Tour: Viktor Hovland Finishes the Job on Monday Morning

The Travelers Championship did not end on Sunday.

That made Monday morning matter.

Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler returned to TPC River Highlands tied at 21 under after weather and darkness pushed the playoff into a new day. That is never an easy reset. Players have to sleep on the moment, warm up again, and walk back into a tournament that still has not been decided.

Hovland handled that beautifully.

He birdied the first sudden-death playoff hole, the 18th at TPC River Highlands, and beat Scheffler to win the Travelers Championship. Scheffler had a short birdie putt to extend it, but when it missed, Hovland had his eighth PGA Tour victory and his first win since March 2025.

This was not just a nice result. It felt like a reminder.

Hovland has always had the ball-striking, the athleticism, and the ability to look like one of the best players in the world when the pieces are in place. The game can disappear on anyone for stretches, but when Hovland starts driving it well, controlling his irons and trusting the short game enough to stay aggressive, he becomes dangerous quickly.

The Travelers gave him that stage.

Scheffler, of course, made him earn it. The world No. 1 had already given the week one of its biggest moments with a second-round 60, nearly joining the rare 59 club. Then he kept himself alive late Sunday, forcing the playoff after Hovland’s birdies at 14 and 15 brought the two together.

That is why this was such a good finish. It was not messy because the players gave it away. It was tense because two elite players kept answering each other.

Collin Morikawa’s final-round 61 also deserves mention. On a week when scoring was available, he nearly stole his way into the playoff with one of the rounds of the tournament. That is the beauty and danger of TPC River Highlands. No lead ever feels totally safe because a player with control of his golf ball can run off birdies in a hurry.

Still, the week belongs to Hovland.

A Monday playoff can feel strange, almost like a postscript after the energy of Sunday has already come and gone. This one did not feel that way. It felt like a proper finish because Hovland made the shot and made the putt when the tournament was sitting right in front of him.

That is winning golf.

PGA Tour Champions: Dicky Pride Turns Back Padraig Harrington at the Dick’s Open

The PGA Tour Champions also gave the week a playoff, and this one had a different kind of feel.

Dicky Pride beat Padraig Harrington with a par on the first playoff hole at the Dick’s Open, winning for the second time on PGA Tour Champions. Pride and Harrington finished regulation at 18 under, with Matt Gogel one shot back in solo third and J.J. Henry alone in fourth.

For Pride, this was a long time coming. His previous PGA Tour Champions victory came at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Classic, so this was not a player stacking up wins every few months. This was a veteran taking advantage of the week when it opened for him.

That is one of the best parts of PGA Tour Champions.

There is history everywhere. There are players who were stars on the PGA Tour. There are players who had long, steady careers. There are players who can still flash brilliant golf on the right week, even if the spotlight usually follows bigger names.

Harrington was the name many people would have expected to finish it off. He was chasing another Dick’s Open title and has been one of the most consistent forces on PGA Tour Champions. When he gets near the lead, there is always the feeling that he knows exactly what to do.

Pride stopped him.

That is not easy. It takes nerve to beat Harrington in a playoff, even with a par. It takes even more nerve when the opponent across from you has the résumé, the major championship history and the comfort level of someone who has spent a lifetime closing tournaments.

Pride got it done anyway.

There is something fitting about that. Professional golf is often framed around the biggest names, but weeks like this are reminders that careers are not always linear and wins do not always arrive when they are expected. Sometimes a player waits years for another one, gets into the right position and finds just enough when it matters.

Pride found enough.

The Closing Thought

This week in professional golf had a little bit of everything.

A first-time major champion. A Monday morning playoff between two of the best players in the world. A PGA Tour Champions veteran beating one of the strongest closers in senior golf.

The common thread was pressure.

Ryu had to climb back from a rough start and close a major on a long, demanding golf course. Hovland had to sleep on a playoff against Scheffler and return the next morning ready to win. Pride had to stand across from Harrington, a player who knows exactly how to handle those moments, and still finish the job.

That is why golf keeps delivering.

The game rarely gives one clean version of winning. Sometimes it is a comeback. Sometimes it is a playoff birdie. Sometimes it is a par that holds up when everything feels heavy.

Ryu’s win changes her career. Hovland’s win feels like a re-entry into a bigger conversation. Pride’s win is the kind of veteran moment that reminds us why PGA Tour Champions still has plenty of bite.

Different tours.

Different stages.

Same lesson.

Golf does not always reward the player with the easiest path. It rewards the one who keeps going when the week gets complicated.