SYLVANIA, Ohio — Even though it had only been a little over a year since her victory in the U.S. Women’s Open, So Yeon Ryu was already feeling the pressure to win again.
She lapped the field to end the drought Sunday.
Ryu rode a string of six straight birdies in the middle of her round to a 9-under 62 and a seven-stroke victory in the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.
“This is just my turning point,” she said. “I want to win again.”
Ryu began the day locked in a four-player logjam — all South Koreans — for first place.
She took the lead by herself for the first time with an 8-foot birdie putt at the third hole and gradually stretched her advantage until pulling away with birdies on Nos. 9-14.
“On hole No. 9, I made a really long putt and my confidence level went up,” she said.
Ryu ended up at 20-under 264 thanks to the lowest final round by a Farr winner — by three strokes.
The lead could have grown even more; Ryu missed birdie putts of 8, 6 and 10 feet at Nos. 4, 6 and 7.
Angela Stanford made a long birdie putt on the final hole for 66 to finish second at 13-under 271. The victory was worth $195,000 to Ryu.