SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY | Ball-striking matters, but never more so than in major championships. Throughout the week at Baltusrol Golf Club, the best tee-to-green player was the baby-faced 20-year-old from China, Ruoning Yin, who goes by “Ronnie.” Long, balanced and with a high ball flight that curves little, Yin won the DIO Implant LA Open earlier this year. In the process, she became only the second player from China, behind Shanshan Feng, to win on the LPGA Tour.
This past Sunday, Yin added her name to the list of major champions, shooting a final-round 67 capped with a 9-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. It was an emphatic introduction to a broader golf audience.
To put some perspective on how good Yin hit it, she missed a grand total of six greens all week. And she got up and down every time but one. All but one of her bogeys – a total of six in four major championship rounds – came from three-putts. When her shots did curve, it was a 1-yard fade, the same kind of shot that Mickey Wright, Jack Nicklaus and Jimmy Walker hit when they won major titles on Baltusrol’s Lower Course.
In keeping with its century-old history, Baltusrol produced some of the best drama of the major championship season, much of it coming down to the final hole. From Nicklaus’ 1-iron in 1967, to the putt that he made to close out Isao Aoki in the 1980 U.S. Open, the reachable par-5 with water on the left proved pivotal once again in this championship.
Yin started the final round three shots behind 54-hole leader Leona Maguire. The lead quickly shifted around to players such as Jenny Shin, Xiyu Lin and Yuka Saso. Under any other circumstance, everyone would have been rooting for Lin. The woman who goes by Janet is one of the most popular players among her LPGA peers, a kind friend who is always quick with a joke and quicker with a compliment. She plays a lot of golf at Orange Tree in Orlando, which has become something of an LPGA enclave for those who live in central Florida. There, Lin is known as the kind of good-hearted woman who would do anything for others.
So, when Lin moved to the top of the leaderboard, a lot of fans would have been expected to rally to her side. Unfortunately, one of the other players in Lin’s group was Rose Zhang, who, incredibly, played herself into contention.
Surely, she couldn’t do it again. When Zhang started the final round six shots off the lead, her week was regarded as a success. It didn’t matter what number she posted on Sunday. Given everything that had happened in her life and her game, especially since April – notably, a second consecutive NCAA title and winning in her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open – making the cut and having a late time in the final round of her first major as a pro seemed more than sufficient. But late into the back nine, Zhang clawed her way to within a shot of the lead a couple of times.
Standing on the final tee box, Lin and Zhang had chances to win. If Lin birdied the par-5, she would finish 8-under and, at worst, in a playoff. Zhang needed an eagle and some help from others. But both players pulled their drives into the water. Zhang made par to finish three shots back, tied for eighth. Lin came away with a heartbreaking bogey, finishing 6-under for the week and still winless in her 10th season on the LPGA Tour.
Lin talked about her patience and how she has found peace with her career no matter how it finishes. She owns the home in Orlando that Yin calls home. “After her first win, I told her I might have to raise the rent,” Lin said. “We’re really good friends.
“It’s amazing,” Lin said of her friend. “She’s young, and she's so talented. She’s definitely really good at dealing with pressure. It's great to see that.
“And it’s my first time paired with Rose, and she obviously did a really good job, too,” Lin said. “I really had a good time with her. It’s nice to see her playing well, so she kind of pushed me a little bit, as well.”
Zhang looked like a 10-year veteran. Every putt fell in at dead weight, the final roll tumbling the ball over the edge of the cup. Wearing aviators and never getting in a hurry, she had a Dirty Harry look about her, and certainly had the crowd on her side. Although all players in the final four groups got a smattering of applause from the galleries, Zhang was the star. Zhang should get used to shouts of “Go, Rose!” and “Come on, Rose!” Two weeks into her career, they’re becoming ubiquitous.
The winner is Zhang’s age. And their personalities seem quite similar. Smiling and accepting congratulations, Yin thanked her sponsors for helping her make it in America. Then, she got to her family and her voice cracked. “I’m getting a little emotion,” she said. “Thank you for supporting me since day one. I love you.”
Steve Eubanks