Ruoning Yin’s emotional reaction to holding off Rose Zhang to win KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Ruoning Yin held off a lot of strong players at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, capturing the first major of her career.

China’s Ruoning Yin knew she needed a birdie on 18 to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She sunk the 10-foot putt like a veteran. Yin signed for a bogey-free 67 on Sunday to win by one stroke over Yuka Saso.

“After the tee shot, I saw Yuka make an incredible birdie here, and now I have to make birdie at this hole to win the championship — I’m glad I did it,” Yin said during the trophy ceremony.

Yin made six pars to start her round before her first birdie fell a the par-5 7th. She made five more pars before she had back-to-back birdies drop at the par-4 13th and 14th holes. Those two birdies got her to 7-under in the tournament with four holes to play.

At that time, Rose Zhang and a host of others were at or near the same mark.

Three more pars kept her in control, and it was up to her to win the tournament on the 18th.

She became the second-ever Chinese player on the LPGA Tour to win a major championship, per the LPGA press release. Shanshan Feng was the first 11 years ago when she won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Yin talked about how much her family meant to her and helped get her to this point. You could see her get a little emotional in the moment. This win was clearly very important for her.

She beat Saso, who won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open. Yin also beat out Zhang, the rookie phenom who won in her LPGA debut earlier in June at the Mizuho Americas Open. Zhang finished T8 in her major debut.

This win marks Yin’s first major championship and her second LPGA victory. The 20-year-old also won The DIO Implant LA Open in March.