Korean Ryu So-yeon clinches LPGA's top rookie honors

South Korea's Ryu So-yeon has clinched the LPGA Tour's top annual rookie award with three tournaments left this season, the tour announced Tuesday.

On its Web site, the LPGA Tour said Ryu became the eighth Korean to claim the Rookie of the Year honors. In the race for the award, the 22-year-old has garnered 1,306 points in 22 events, well ahead of American teenager Lexi Thompson, who has picked up 779 points in 21 tournaments.

Rookies are awarded 150 points for first in a tournament, 80 points for second, 75 points for third and so forth. Ryu has a win this year among her 14 top-10 finishes.

She earned her LPGA Tour membership by winning the 2011 U.S. Women's Open, one of four majors in women's golf, as a member of the Korea LPGA.

In her first full LPGA season, Ryu has been one of the most consistent golfers. She leads all players with 321 birdies and is fourth in scoring average with 70.42. Ryu is also tied with Stacy Lewis of the U.S. with 14 top-10s and is third in putting per greens in regulation with 1.76.

Ryu has followed in the footsteps of the first wave of South Korean golfers. Pak Se-ri, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, became the first Korean to win the rookie honors in 1998, and Kim Mi-hyun, Han Hee-won and Ahn Shi-hyun soon followed. Then Lee Seon-hwa, Shin Ji-yai and Seo Hee-kyung, all in their early 20s, grabbed the rookie prize in the last six years.

"Winning the U.S. Women's Open last year as a non-member was a really huge thing for me, but I really worried that some people might think it was just one lucky win," Ryu said through the LPGA Tour's Web site. "That was a huge pressure on me, so I set a goal to win this award and add another trophy. I'm so proud of myself to be the eighth Korean to win the Rookie of the Year." (Yonhap News)