SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Twenty-year-old Ruoning Yin of China birdied the 72nd hole to post a bogey-free 67 and win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday at Baltsurol Golf Club.
Yin finished at 8-under 276, edging Japan’s Yuka Saso by one stroke at the second women’s golf major of the year. Despite finding the rough off the tee at the par-5 18th, Yin reached the green in three and sank a birdie putt from roughly 10 feet to break a tie with Saso at 7 under.
In April, Yin joined Shanshan Feng as the only two Chinese winners in LPGA history when she won the DIO Implant LA Open. Now Yin accompanies Feng, who won the 2012 Women’s PGA, among the ranks of major champions.
“Before today’s round, I just told my physio that my goal for today (was) just no three-putts,” Yin said. “I don’t care if I’m winning or not — just no three-putts. And I did it, too.”
Yin outlasted Saso, Jenny Shin of South Korea and her friend Xiyu Lin of China, each of whom held a share of the lead at some point during the afternoon.
Saso set the clubhouse lead at 7 under by carding a 66 with six birdies, including an impressive save at No. 18. Her third shot out of a greenside bunker there calmly rolled to about 2 feet.
Yin was playing one group behind Saso.
“I saw Yuka make an incredible birdie here and I knew I had to make birdie at this hole to win the championship,” Yin said.
Ranked No. 25 in the world, Yin began Sunday three shots off the pace of Ireland’s Leona Maguire, whose final-round 74 opened the door for several players to make a charge. Yin played a quiet first 12 holes, with 11 pars and a lone birdie at the par-5 seventh, before back-to-back birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 pushed her to 7 under.
She made her move by not only avoiding three-putts, but also leading the field in greens in regulation. She hit 66 of 72 for the championship and did not miss a single green Saturday or Sunday.
After Yin finished her round, the only player who could match her score was Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow, who began the day in third place and birdied No. 17 to get to 6 under. An eagle at the par-5 18th would have forced a playoff, but Meadow topped her second shot and was unable to hole out from the fairway for eagle after that.
“It was one of those shots where I had to hit it absolutely perfect to get to the front, and I knew that, and I think I tried to swing a little too hard and it was a little bit of a downhill lie,” Meadow said. “Yeah, it happens. Best players in the world can do it.”
There were no rounds lower than 66 through the first three days of action, but France’s Perrine Delacour posted an early 64 Sunday before Carlota Ciganda of Spain matched that number. Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist turned in a 65.
Ciganda, Nordqvist, Meadow (70), Lin (67) and Megan Khang (67) wound up tied for third at 6 under.
Lin — who is seven years Yin’s senior and is renting her old house in Orlando, Fla. to Yin — was tied with Yin at 7 under when her tee shot at No. 18 landed in a water hazard. Rose Zhang, playing right after Lin, also saw her tee shot bounce into the water. Lin wound up with her only bogey of the day.
Later, Lin was speaking with reporters when she caught a glimpse of a TV monitor as Yin rolled in the eventual winning putt.
“It’s pretty amazing. It’s amazing,” Lin said. “She’s young, and she’s so talented. She’s definitely really good at dealing with pressure. It’s great to see that.”
Lin was perhaps the biggest victim of a weather delay that interrupted play for one hour and 53 minutes. A pouring rainstorm did not bring lightning but did alter the speed of the greens.
Before the delay, Lin made birdies at Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, the first three from very long range. After the delay, it was all pars until her rough ending hole.
“I was in pretty good momentum, and then rain delay made me sit down and maybe have some time to get a little nervous,” Lin said. “I think I did pretty good after I came back out. It’s just I hit — all the putts I hit was good. It just didn’t really happen.”
Zhang, another 20-year-old with high expectations surrounding her, shot a 67 to finish her first major as a professional in a tie for eighth with Shin (72) and Japan’s Ayaka Furue (66).
Maguire was the only player to shoot in the 60s each of the first three rounds, but she never had her ‘A’ game on Sunday and finished with four bogeys and one birdie. She tied for 11th at 4 under with Delacour and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (67).
–By Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
