Ryu Hae-ran falls short in bid for third straight LPGA major title

Ryu Hae-ran has fallen short in her quest for her third straight LPGA major title.

The South Korean player finished tied for sixth at the AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England, on Sunday (local time) with a four-round total of one-under 283.

Ryu, who shot a 74 in the final round with three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey, ended up four strokes back of the champion and her playing partner, Shiho Kuwaki of Japan, who beat Esther Henseleit of Germany in a playoff.

Ryu was trying to become only the third player in LPGA history to win three straight majors in one year, joining American legend Babe Zaharias in 1950 and South Korean LPGA Hall of Famer Park In-bee in 2013. Ryu previously won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June and the Amundi Evian Championship in July.

Ryu began the final round in a five-way tie for second place at four-under, three behind Korean American Yealimi Noh.

Playing in the third-to-last group, Ryu opened her final round with a birdie but gave back a shot two holes later. Ryu then played her way out of contention with a double bogey at the par-3 fifth, where she put her tee shot in a bunker and needed three shots to reach the green.

She recovered with a birdie at the seventh but bogeyed the par-5 11th after finding two bunkers.

A birdie at the 13th brought Ryu within two shots of the lead, but her fate was sealed with consecutive bogeys at the final two holes.

Ryu led the tournament at the halfway mark at seven-under after rounds of 66 and 69, but she carded consecutive 74s on the weekend.

Ryu also finished second to Nelly Korda of the United States, who tied for fourth at the AIG Women's Open, in the race for the Annika Major Award, presented to the player with the best overall performance at major championships each season. Korda won the first two majors of the season before Ryu went on her run, and the American star was leading Ryu in the major award standings, 126-120, prior to this tournament.

Players earned points based on top-10 finishes at majors, with a win worth 60 points. Korda, in addition to her two wins, recorded two other top-10s for 140 points, while Ryu, with her two wins and one top-10, finished with 130 points.