Yin Ruoning of China wins the Women’s PGA Championship for a Major Title

China’s Yin Ruoning won her maiden major championship after making a 10-foot birdie putt on the last hole of the Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Shanghai native finished 72 holes at Baltusrol on eight-under 276 and defeated Japan’s Yuka Saso by one stroke. She had a four-under par 67.

After Feng Shanshan, who won the 2012 Women’s PGA, Yin became only the second Chinese woman to win a major championship with the $1.5 million top prize.

The 2021 US Women’s Open champion Saso, a 22-year-old Japanese star of Filipino descent, birdied the par-5 18th to tie Yin for the lead at 7-under on the soggy Springfield, New Jersey course.

In response, Yin placed her approach shot 10 feet from the green and rolled in the nerve-wracking birdie putt to win the second major women’s event of the year.

After seeing Yuka score an unbelievable birdie on this hole after the tee shot, Yin commented, “I knew I had to make birdie at this hole to win the championship, and I’m glad I did it.”

Play was interrupted for over two hours by a storm in the early afternoon, but when it resumed, Yin birdied the 13th and 14th holes to tie for the lead, parred the next three holes while his competitors struggled, and won at the 18th after making every green in regulation throughout the course of the last two rounds.

My ball hitting has been flawless for the last few of days, stated Yin. “My ball hitting was quite decent since I only missed six greens in four days.

“Today, I want to make no three-putts. And I also did it. I wasn’t very thoughtful. However, no three-putts Considering that four of my five bogeys over the last several days were three-putts.

Carlota Ciganda of Spain, Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland, Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, Lin Xiyu of China, and Megan Khang of the United States all tied for third on 278.

Ayaka Furue of Japan, Jenny Shin of South Korea, and Rose Zhang of America tied for eighth place on 279 points.

When Yin won the LA Open in April, she joined Feng as the only Chinese women to have won an LPGA championship.

Lin, who was in the lead when the storm hit, was one among many who fell short of Yin in the final stretch.

Regarding Yin’s triumph, Lin said, “It’s pretty amazing.” She’s young and really gifted. She excels at handling pressure without a doubt. That is fantastic to behold.

When play began after the storm, Shin and Lin were tied for first place while seven other players were within two strokes.

After Shin bogeyed the eighth hole, Lin held the lead by herself and maintained it until Yin birdied the 13th and 14th hole and Saso scored her fourth birdie in six holes at the 15th to tie for the lead at 7-under, however Saso faltered with a bogey at the 16th.

At the par-5 18th hole, Lin found water off the tee and finished with a bogey, giving Yin the lead by himself.

In response, Saso made a tap-in birdie at hole 18 to even the score, which prepared the way for Yin’s heroics in the final strokes.