“She's the real deal!” – Fans react to Ruoning Yin winning the KPMG Women's PGA Championship 2023
Ruoning Yin beat Yuka Saso by a single stroke to win the KPMG Women's PGA Championship 2023 at Baltusrol on Sunday, June 25.
Yin had started the fourth round at T4, three strokes short of the lead, but carded a bogey-free 4-under 67 on the final day at Baltrusol to aggregate at 8-under 267. Although Saso shot a comparatively lower round of 5-under 66, she made a sole bogey on the 16th hole and ended up missing a possible playoff by one stroke.
Yin, who had won just one professional title before this week, became only the second Chinese woman in history to claim a major championship title.
Lifting the first major trophy 🏆
Ruoning Yin | @KPMGWomensPGA https://t.co/uxHRpyrNhW
Fans on social media celebrated the 20-year-old golfer's success, and Twitter was full of congratulatory messages to the young golfer.
Here's a look at some of the reactions:
"She's the real deal!"
@LPGA @KPMGWomensPGA She's the real deal!
"Impressive win for so many reason—mainly her relentless ball striking, missing only 6 greens all week & figuring out her putting enough to hole the winning putt she knew she had to make. Congratulations Ruoning on major #1"
@LPGA @KPMGWomensPGA Impressive win for so many reason—mainly her relentless ball striking, missing only 6 greens all week & figuring out her putting enough to hole the winning putt she knew she had to make. Congratulations Ruoning on major #1
"Consistent striking all week means no Sunday scaries for Yin! 🏆"
@LPGA Consistent striking all week means no Sunday scaries for Yin! 🏆
"Thanks to lin choking again wow is she just brutal"
@LPGA Thanks to lin choking again wow is she just brutal
"Great tourney run for the W. A new star on the tour has emerged."
@LPGA Great tourney run for the W. A new star on the tour has emerged.
"Wow, congratulations to Ruoning Yin for becoming a major champion! Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and you're an inspiration to us all. 🔥🏆 Check my bio plz"
@LPGA Wow, congratulations to Ruoning Yin for becoming a major champion! Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and you're an inspiration to us all. 🔥🏆 Check my bio plz
"Congratulations to Ruoning Yin (tentent) on an amazing victory!"
@LPGA Congratulations to Ruoning Yin (tentent) on an amazing victory! 🏆🏆💕💕❤❤💜💜💙💙💚💚💛💛🧡🧡😍😍😘😘😊😊🤗🤗😄😄😁😁🙌🙌👊👊👏👏
"CONGRATULATIONS! even though everybody wanted a different young Chinese lady to win."
@LPGA CONGRATULATIONS! even though everybody wanted a different young Chinese lady to win.
"Congrats, Great playing, tenant no more!"
@LPGA Congrats, Great playing, tenant no more!
"Excellent finish! So much pressure there at the end!"
@LPGA Excellent finish! So much pressure there at the end!
"Congratulations, Yin. A new star is borned"
@LPGA Congratulations, Yin. A new star is borned
"What a great final round!"
@LPGA What a great final round!
"Great win ! Where can I buy that shoe?"
@LPGA Great win ! Where can I buy that shoe?
"Congratulations young lady"
@LPGA Congratulations young lady
"It's amazing. It's just unreal," said Ruoning Yin on her KPMG Women's PGA Championship 2023 victory
Ruoning Yin made her LPGA debut in 2022, and in just her second year, she is now a major championship winner.
After her incredible win on Sunday, Yin was asked about her feelings. She called it unreal, stating that it hadn't sunk in yet.
She said:
"It means a lot, but it still feels unreal right now. Before today, I didn't even think about it. After nine holes when we were at the clubhouse, I started thinking about, oh, maybe I have a chance to win this championship."
Before Yin, Shanshan Feng was the only Chinese player to achieve a major win. Feng had won the 2012 Women's PGA Championship and reached No. 1 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. The 20-year-old golfer called Feng her inspiration.
"I would say she's definitely the goal that I'm chasing. But I think she is the person who inspired me the most. I would say that."
Yin won $1.5 million for her KPMG Women's PGA Championship title, while Saso bagged $875,130 for her runner-up finish.