Rookie Yin Ruo Ning (China), born in 2002, has booked her place at No. 1 in women’s golf. She is only the second Chinese player to reach the top of the women’s golf world rankings since Feng Shanshan.
Yin finished third (14-under par 274) at the Kroger Queen City Championship on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour at Kenwood CC in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 11. Her five birdies without a bogey on the day moved her up five spots from a tie for eighth the day before, and while she fell two strokes short of Lee Min-Ji Lee (AUS), who defeated Charley Hull (GBR) in a playoff for the title (16-under-par 272), she achieved her goal of a top-four finish that would put her on track to become the world No. 1.
A rookie on the LPGA Tour who was ranked outside the top 400 at this time last year, Inling has made a frightening leap this season. After starting the year ranked 146th in the world, she won her first career title at the Dio Implants LA Open in April, shocked the world by winning the second major of the season, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and has now finished third in four of her last five events. A tie for third at the Portland Classic last week moved her up two spots from fourth in the world, and her three consecutive third-place finishes have knocked world No. 1 Lilia Boo (USA) off her perch.
“When I saw the leaderboard on the last hole, I knew that a third place finish would make me world No. 1,” Yin said in a post-match interview. “I knew the conditions to become world No. 1 before the match, and I tried to play a bogey-free round.”
In doing so, Yin became the second Chinese player to reach the top of the women’s golf rankings after Feng Shanshan, who held the top spot for 23 weeks from November 2017. Feng retired from the LPGA Tour with 10 career wins (one major) and is now the head coach of the Chinese national team.
“I can’t think of anything right now, I’ll have to wait for the official announcement to see what I can say after my name is listed as the world’s number one,” said Yin Luning, who added: “Being number one is a big leap for me, following the path 바카라 of my idol Feng Shan Shan. It’s a dream come true.” “I haven’t had many conversations with Feng Shanshan yet, but I’m looking forward to spending more time with him when I return to China and play for the national team,” said Yin Lunying, who is competing for China at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Kunming, Yunnan, China native started playing golf at the age of 10 and competed as an amateur at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, where she won a bronze medal in the team event, before making her Chinese Women’s Professional Golf debut in 2020, winning three consecutive tournaments to set a Guinness World Record. She passed the LPGA Q-Series in late 2021 and has been playing in the United States since last year.
