Ina Yoon Ties Women's PGA Record With 63 at Hazeltine

When Hazeltine Holds Its Breath

There are certain golf courses that seem to know when something extraordinary is unfolding. Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, has hosted enough historic moments to recognize the feeling—that electric stillness that settles over the galleries when greatness is in motion.

On Thursday, Hazeltine felt it again.

Ina Yoon, a 23-year-old South Korean still searching for her first LPGA Tour victory, did something only four other women have accomplished in the 71-year history of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. She shot 63. Nine birdies. Nine under par. A round so pure, so seemingly effortless, that it matched the lowest score ever recorded in this storied major.

The Making of a Masterpiece

I've walked Hazeltine's fairways before, felt how the Minnesota wind can turn a straightforward approach into a puzzle, watched how the water hazards seem to pull at errant shots like magnets. This is not a course that yields low numbers easily. It demands precision, patience, and nerves of reinforced steel.

Yoon brought all three on Thursday.

Her round was defined by clinical putting—seven of her nine birdie putts dropped from within 13 feet, the other two from 22 and 24 feet. But it was her finish that elevated the performance from excellent to historic. Five birdies over her final six holes. In a major championship. On a course that has humbled far more experienced players.

"I just hit the golf ball and it just dropped in the hole and it was really an awesome experience," Yoon said afterward with the kind of understated wonder that suggests even she couldn't quite believe what had transpired. "Just try to think nothing. Focus on what I need to do. Focus on process. That part I think I did great today."

Joining Rarefied Company

Yoon's 63 places her alongside some of the most accomplished names in women's golf:

Nelly Korda (2021)
Sei Young Kim (2020)
Meg Mallon (1999)
Patty Sheehan (1984)

What makes Yoon's round particularly remarkable is that it came in the opening round—none of the others achieved their 63s on day one. The world's 39th-ranked player, who finished T-4 at the Chevron Championship earlier this season, now holds a two-shot lead heading into Friday.

Korda's Historic Chase Hits Turbulence

While Yoon was rewriting record books, Nelly Korda was grinding through her own narrative—one with significantly more drama. Korda arrived at Hazeltine chasing history of a different kind: a sweep of the season's first three majors, a feat accomplished by only two women before her, Inbee Park in 2013 and the legendary Babe Zaharias in 1950.

For 15 holes, it looked promising. Korda stood at 4-under, very much in the hunt.

Then came the 16th.

The 378-yard dogleg left demands a precise tee shot, and Korda's found the water. A three-putt from 35 feet followed, and suddenly the scorecard read double bogey. "It's a pretty intimidating tee shot and I just didn't really like the way I hit it off the start," Korda admitted. "I just overturned it. By now you just feel it when it's bad."

Her 2-under 70 leaves her seven shots behind Yoon—not insurmountable over 54 holes, but a deficit that will require something special.

The Field Takes Shape

Australian Karis Davidson emerged as the day's other standout performer, posting a career-best 65 in the afternoon wave to sit two shots behind Yoon. The leaderboard promises a compelling weekend at a venue that never fails to deliver theater.

Key Takeaway

Hazeltine has witnessed history before, but there's something particularly captivating about watching a relative unknown seize a major championship by the throat. Ina Yoon's record-tying 63 wasn't just a number—it was a statement. Whether she can sustain this brilliance over the remaining three rounds remains to be seen, but for one perfect Thursday afternoon in Minnesota, she played golf as well as anyone in 71 years of championship history.