‘It’s been so long’: China’s Yin Ruoning wins FM Championship, her first title since 2024
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China’s Yin Ruoning, 23, carded a two-under 70 and finished with a 14-under total of 274 at the FM Championship on Aug 30 to win for the sixth time on tour.
PHOTO: AFP
China’s Yin Ruoning fought off a challenge by South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim to capture the FM Championship by two strokes on Aug 30 at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts.
Yin, 23, carded a two-under 70 and finished with a 14-under total of 274 to win for the sixth time on tour.
Kim, who grabbed the lead and got to 13 under by birdieing holes Nos. 7, 9 and 10, bogeyed the 16th hole and recorded a one-under 71 to finish solo second at 12-under 276.
Allisen Corpuz (11 under) and Rose Zhang (10 under) tied for the low round of the day at four-under 68. Corpuz, who was tied for the lead after two rounds, finished alone in third place, while Zhang tied for fourth with South Korea’s Kim Sei Young (73).
Yin, Kim Hyo Joo and Kim Sei Young battled all day in the final group and each held the lead on the back nine.
Kim Sei Young chipped in for a birdie-2 on the par-three 11th to get to 14 under, but took a double-bogey seven on the ensuing hole and two more bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 to fall out of contention.
Yin rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-five 12th hole to tie Kim Hyo Joo at -13.
But Kim Hyo Joo suffered a three-putt bogey on the par-three 16th hole, misfiring from nine feet away for par.
Both players parred No. 17 and Yin finished off her first win of the year with a birdie on the 72nd hole. Yin’s last win occurred at the Maybank Championship in October 2024.
“It’s just been so long since my last win,” Yin said. “And then I know I work hard and also my team, my mum is here. Just everything just comes together.
“I think this one definitely boost my confidence a little bit more, and, you know, I just want to enjoy the moment.”
Kim Hyo Joo, who has won twice in 2026 and is the fourth-ranked player in the world, wants more before the year ends.
“It kept going back and forth with the scores on who would win so no one knew. At the end of the day it was Ronni,” she said through a translator.
“My goal is to win another one before the season ends. But I think right now I’m concentrating on playing my best golf.”
Top-ranked Nelly Korda shot a one-over 73 and tied for 50th place at one over for the week.
Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist wrapped up her final event on the LPGA Tour by tying for 38th at one under. The 39-year-old three-time major champion will captain the European team at the Solheim Cup next month.
“I’m not really sure how to feel,” Nordqvist said about her retirement. “Nothing ever prepares you for this moment. I’m definitely going to miss it.” REUTERS