PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif.—Professional golfer Ruoning Yin shot a 1–under 70, –15 total, to edge out Georgia Hall (–14) for her first LPGA Tour victory on Sunday, April 2, at the DIO Implant LA Open at Palos Verdes Golf Club.
The 20-year-old in her second season on the Tour made six birdies and five bogeys on the day. She had a two-stroke lead on Hyo Joo Kim (S. Korea) following opening rounds of 68–64–67.
“I made a birdie on 2, which is good. But after that I just made three bogeys in a row. Just some small mistake out there. And after 5, I just told myself, can’t make one more bogey. I just switch a ball, and, yeah, four birdies in a row,” said Yin. “I started think about if I’m going to win or not a little bit. But after 10 and 13, I made two bogies out there and I said, no, you can’t think about that any more.”
“I fought so hard today,” Yin added. “I’m so happy that I fought back.”
Running Yin (L), Georgia Hall (C), and Hyo Woo Kim (R) of the final group walks on the 18th green at the DIO Implant LA Open, at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., on April 2, 2023. (Nhat Hoang/The Epoch Times)Residing in Orlando, Flor., Yin follows Shanshan Feng as just the second player from China to win on the LPGA Tour. Feng’s final victory was in 2019 at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
“That means a lot, not just for me, also for China,” Yin said. “Shanshan is always my goal here, and I think she got 10 tour wins here, and it’s just my first one. She’s definitely the person I look up to.”
Yin catapults to sixth in the season Race to CME Globe points—surviving Hall’s final round charge, 69–72–62–67. The English-woman shot a bogey-free round, scoring birdies at holes No. 4, 5, 7 and 16, for a total of 14 under.
Hall missed a birdie opportunity on the final hole to tie Yin following her approach shot approximately 7 feet past the hole—while Yin’s birdie putt rattled out from 15 feet away.
Georgia Hall, England, misses birdie attempt on the 18th green at the DIO Implant LA Open, at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., on April 2, 2023. (Nhat Hoang/The Epoch Times)Last week, Hall also placed second at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain—losing in a one-hole playoff to Celine Boutier (France) at Gold Canyon, Ariz.
Kim shot a 71, –12 total and tied for third alongside Thailand’s Patty Tavantanakit (65).
“[I’m] a lot more confident than where I was even a week ago,” said UCLA alumna Tavantanakit. “To be able to close it off and post a really good round today, I was really proud of myself. … I played here in college and, you know, coming down especially the back nine, it’s not easy: 11, 12, 13. … I was really being patient, and I think that helped a lot.”
Top American finisher and World No. 2 ranked Nelly Korda scored a 67, 11 under total, tying for fifth with Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (66).
Americans Lucy Li (L), and Nelly Korda (R) embrace upon finishing their final round on the 18th green, at the DIO Implant LA Open, at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., on April 2, 2023. (Nhat Hoang/The Epoch Times)Other Southern California notables are Westlake native Danielle Kang, tying for seventh at –10, and Lilia Vu of Fountain Valley (fifth in Race to CME Globe points) with a T11 finish at 8–under.
Danielle Kang of the United States prepares for her par-putt on the 18th green at the DIO Implant LA Open, at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., on April 2, 2023. (Nhat Hoang/The Epoch Times)