The 5 Biggest Takeaways From the KPMG Women's PGA Championship

The 2026 KPMG Women's PGA Championship delivered everything you'd want from a major championship: a first-time major winner, surprising leaderboard shakeups, and plenty of storylines that extended far beyond the final score. Haeran Ryu left Hazeltine National with the biggest victory of her career, but her breakthrough isn't the only takeaway from the third major of the season.

From the continued strength of the tour's international talent to the stars and former major winners who couldn't quite mount a Sunday charge, the championship offered a glimpse at where the LPGA stands heading into the second half of the year. Here are the five things we can't stop thinking about after the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

Haeran Ryu's triumph

The 2023 Rookie of the Year has quietly established herself as one of the LPGA's most consistent players, 3 other wins and 31 top-10s already, and Hazeltine provided the perfect stage to showcase exactly why she's one of the best in the world. The World No. 12 hit 10 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation on Sunday, finishing the week ranked first in strokes gained: total, greens in regulation, and strokes gained: tee-to-green.

RELATED: Two Putters Lead To Haeran Ryu's First Major Championship

"I mean, it just feels like a dream right now," Ryu said after capturing her first major by two shots.

After a three-hour rain delay (that Ryu actually went home for to take a nap before playing in the final group), the Korean star stumbled a bit early, but down the back nine stretch looked to be like the player to beat, dropping putts to steady herself and ultimate seal the deal. She became just the second player in history to comeback from a 10-shot deficit (she was T-70 after Thursday) to win a major title.

She was the unlikely hero of the week, but still a deserving one, and I think Haeran Ryu has the potential to have a career similar to a Jin Young Ko—demure in personality but fiery on the course, and clutch when it matters most.

Where does Nelly Korda go from here?

It was an off week to say the least for the World No. 1, and yet, she still had a chance.

All week long the talk around Nelly was winning this week to become the third woman in history to win the first three majors of a season, which would sequently land her into the LPGA's Hall of Fame, securing her final two points needed for entry.

RELATED: Nelly Korda's March Toward Golf Immortality

But it was a narrative Korda didn't adhere to, her frustration was with her game. "You guys [media] made that such a big thing. I didn't think about that, no. Like not -- I was just kind of disappointed in the way that I played this week, not that I came up short really," she said after her Sunday finish of a 1-over par round of 73. "I was just thinking about the way that I played, not like the realistic big picture that everyone is talking about."

And Korda's right. These storylines are arbitrary once balls are struck on any given Thursday, and she'll have plenty of time and opportunity to re-write history with her own narrative. She's still on track to make the Hall of Fame. She'll have two opportunities to go at the career grand slam at Evian and the AIG, so there's no need to hit panic mode on a season that has been pretty close to perfect for the 27-year-old, who is also balancing all of this and planning a wedding!!

Brooke Henderson showed grit

The most winningest Canadian golfer wasn't a name I had on my KPMG bingo card last week but I'm so happy she proved me wrong. The 2016 champion made a run for her third major title and it was a nice reminder that Brooke Henderson's best days are not behind her.

Her playing style is aggressive, she absolutely rips it and goes for it, which is why it was surprising to see her make some of the decisions she did late on Sunday. Her conservative shot selections did more harm than good on a few holes and she played herself out of the championship toward the end, but overall I really, really liked what I saw out of the new auntie to baby Sahalee.

The Henderson family welcomed its newest member on Thursday when Brittany, Brooke's big sis and caddie, gave birth to her daughter. So in the grand scheme of life—coming up short at a major probably doesn't matter as much as the new bundle of joy.

RELATED: I Was Expecting Carnage...But The Hazeltine Vibes Have Been Incredibly Wholesome

Dewi Weber's Solheim dreams

Outside of Haeran, there was another player that left everyone pleasantly surprised: Dewi Weber.

I reported on her love for Olivia Rodrigo being the thing to get her through the week (and I was partially joking), but Weber walked away from Hazeltine has the hero story of the week. Haeran's efforts shouldn't go unnoticed, and they don't, but how the 30-year-old Dutch player performed over the weekend for her best finish on the LPGA is impressive.

Photo courtesy of the PGA of America

And now making the Solheim Cup team doesn't feel like a pipe dream. Heading into the week, Weber had only made five cuts in 2026—she left Hazeltine doing what no other player from the Netherlands had.

I hope captain Anna Nordqvist takes a long, hard look at what having an older rookie on her squad who knows the golf culture of Amsterdam better than anyone, can do for her team.

Did Hazeltine deliver as Riv's encore?

Following the success of the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera, Hazeltine had big expectations to meet—and it delivered...sort of.

I was excited to see the championship venue that had hosted this event before and a Ryder Cup, there was plenty of hype. From the demanding setup to the electric atmosphere of those previous experiences, I was ready to be blown away.

And in some ways I was. The crowd turn out on Thursday was remarkable and by far the biggest turn out I've seen this year, but the golf course lacked the juice, until the weekend. Once the conditions beefed up, with lots of wind and the heavy rain on Sunday, then I felt like Hazeltine came to play. At Riv, there was almost an instant sort of bite to it, this championship was more of a slow burn and revealed itself overtime, which isn't a bad thing, but I was definitely waiting for it to be great.

But what I will say is that Hazeltine deserves the praise for welcoming the Women's PGA Championship as one of the first true iconic venues to embrace the women's game.

RELATED: Hazeltine's Biggest Test? Hole 16 (And How It's Changed)

The LPGA will go on a break this week before heading to Europe for the final two majors of the year: the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women's Open.

Our KPMG Final Round Recap