LPGA star continues late-season run with another victory in her home country
Zhe Ji
Ruoning Yin found something that was just as good as winning in her home country of China: winning there again.
The 24-year-old star shot a final-round four-under 68 to overtake Hye-Jin Choi to win the Buick LPGA Shanghai by one shot on Sunday. Yin won the title in 2024, but her win this year came at a different course, the Sheshan Golf Club.
Yin—the home-crowd favorite—birdied back-to-back holes on No. 16 and 17 to pull away from Choi and secure the victory, her seventh on the LPGA Tour. Yin won $480,000 of the $3.2 million purse.
“I think I kept patient the whole week, even though some putts were not dropping,” Yin said. “My putting was working well when I needed it the most. I'm just really proud of my team and myself, and everyone who came out to watch me. I'm just glad I get it done again.”
Zhe Ji
Yin shot 68-74-67-68–277 and finished at 11 under to best the 81-player field, which included 11 of the top-25 players in the world. That score is about what she thought it would take to lift the trophy.
“This course is very challenging, and it played really, really long this week,” Yin said. “I think the difficulty is pretty close to a major. Before the week, I was talking to my team, and I was like, ‘maybe 10 under or 12 under, can win the thing. I'm just glad it's me again.’ ”
For a while, it looked like Choi would win for the first time on tour. She had the 54-hole lead for the fifth time in her career but wasn’t able to hold off Yin. Choi shot a one-under 71 on Sunday and finished second for the seventh time in her career.
Yin’s putter was working. She made a 10-foot putt on No. 10 to tie the lead with Choi, Yin’s first time in the lead. Yin had putts lip out on holes 13 and 15 that could’ve given her the lead. Yin made a three-foot putt on No. 16 to give herself a one-shot lead with two holes to play. On the par-3 17th hole, Yin had a terrific tee shot to 10 feet, then she made the putt. She punctuated it with a fist pump as that all but sealed the win.
Zhe Ji
While she had a pair of putts lip out, she also made plenty. She needed just 26 putts and hit all 14 fairways.
Yin, ranked sixth in the world ahead of the win, clearly has her groove back. Her win at the FM Championship in August in Boston snapped a two-year winless streak. She tried to stop pressing and wondering why others were winning and she wasn’t continuing to lift trophies. She tried to have more fun as well and has eight top 10s and two wins this year. She’s the seventh player to win multiple times on tour this season.
Yin has won back-to-back tournaments since she hadn’t played on tour since the Boston event. She was glad to be back in China, adored by fans and fellow players, including bestie Jeeno Thitikul, who showered her with love and champagne Sunday.
“This tournament means everything to me,” Yin said. “To be able to win in front of all my family and friends and these incredible fans, it’s a dream come true again.”