Ina Yoon dropped from the lead to third at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship after a third-round 75 on Saturday. She reached nine under, one shot behind Brooke Henderson and two behind Haeran Ryu.
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Ryu, Henderson and Yoon
Ryu took the top spot at 11 under after Saturday, with Henderson second at 10 under. Yoon entered the final round with the championship still within reach, but the margin had tightened after she followed Thursday's nine-under 63 and Friday's 69 with her highest round of the week.
Saturday also reset the order for Sunday. Yoon, Ryu and Henderson were the final threesome, scheduled to tee off at 10:25 a.m. ET.
Yoon's Saturday lead
Yoon said Saturday was the first time she had ever held such a lead. “My [Today] was my first time and experience having such a lead, so I expected to be nervous,” she said after her round.
She added that she “was able to keep my calm relatively well, and playing through nerves was the lesson I really learned today.” That is a useful detail for a player trying to finish off a first major title: the pressure was not hidden, and the leaderboard showed it.
From suspension to contention
The contender in third place is also the player who was suspended from the Korean Golf Association and KLPGA four years ago for a cheating scandal. In 2022, she missed a fairway during the first round of the Korea Women’s Open, played the wrong ball and did not tell anyone when she reached the green.
A month later, she was accused at the KLPGA’s Evercollagen Queens Crown, and a day later she admitted the rules violation. The KLPGA’s Reward and Punishment Subcommittee gave her a three-year suspension, then appeals reduced it to 18 months.
During that time, Yoon moved to Tampa, Fla., played as the only woman on the Minor League Golf Tour and donated all of her winnings to junior golf programs. She returned to the KLPGA in 2024, earned her LPGA membership for 2025 through LPGA Q-Series and has now put herself one round from her first major championship.
Yoon’s path makes Sunday’s final round sharper than a routine leaderboard chase. She made 18 of 26 cuts as a rookie last year, has missed just one cut in 11 starts this season, added four top-10 finishes and tied for fourth at the Chevron Championship. Now the player who was once out of the game is in the final pairing with a major title still on the line.
