Moriya settles 2nd behind South Korea's Ryu in NW Arkansas Championship

The elder sister of world No 1 Ariya carded a bogey free round highlighted with an ending eagle to enjoy her best position in 2017.

“I still feel like playing pretty solid today. A lot of good chances out there that I give myself. It's still a really good week. Yeah, I'm happy with what I'm doing,” said Moriya who earned the prize money of US$158,959.

When asked about her relationship with Ariya, she said: “Of course we really close, you know, we are only like 16-month difference. We are good friends and like -- I mean, like, we share everything together.”

Her impressive form will boost her confidence going to the second Major of the year, the KPMA Women’s Championship which starts on Thursday in Illinois.

“I get a lot of confidence from this week and hopefully keep playing solid and finish in another good week (in Illinois).”

Ryo So-Yeon  

Ryu So-Yeon became the first two-time winner in 2017 on Sunday as she closed with a two-under 69 at the USLPGA Tour's Northwest Arkansas Championship for her 15th career international title.

The world number three Ryu, who won her second major championship in April at the ANA Inspiration, finished the 54-hole event at 18-under 195 for a two-shot win over South Korean compatriot Yang and Moriya.

"To be honest, today my game wasn't really a great game," said Ryu. "Yesterday my psychologist said 'don't try to be perfect'.

"I had to tell myself 'OK, don't compare this to any other rounds. Just keep focused.'"

Yang fired a seven-under 64 to reach 16-under as she tied Moriya (66) for second place at the Pinnacle Country Club course.

Americans Michelle Wie (64) and Stacy Lewis (69) finished in a tie for fourth while Aussie Lee Min-Jee and Park In-Bee of South Korea both shot 67 to finish at 12-under 201, six shots adrift of Ryu.

Ryu is the first to win twice this season as the previous 15 tournaments produced 15 different winners.

There is a chance Ryu could move into the world number one position but the LPGA Tour is still crunching the numbers, so no word on any changes at the top will come until Monday when the new rankings are released. The current number one is Ariya Jutanugarn, who is the younger sister of Moriya.

Ryu had not played since the ShopRight Classic two weeks ago where she missed her first cut in three years. She says the break was just long enough to help her put a series of poor performances in the back of her mind.