Xiyu Lin gave it everything she had. Admitting on Saturday she needed to be aggressive on the final day of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, Lin knew it would take a massive effort to thwart Ally Ewing and Maria Fassi who were alongside her in the day’s final grouping. After a bogey-free 65 that saw her make seven birdies, including one on the tough finishing hole, Lin fell just one stroke short of Ewing for her second runner-up finish of the 2022 season. It wasn’t all tears or disappointment, as Lin smiled her way through another day in Cincinnati and said playing with Fassi and Ewing was another positive from the week.
“[Ally]’s a really nice person overall. It was actually my first time playing with her in Evian, but I just enjoy every round I play with her and every talk I have with her,” said Lin, who was grouped with Ewing in the first and second rounds of the major championship in France. “She is just a really nice girl and I guess we cheer each other up. So does Maria. We had the game face on, but in between shots I think we chat a lot and it was very pleasant.”
Lin, who hasn’t missed a cut since the 2021 Pure Silk Championship, earned her fourth top-10 finish of the season, and second in a row after a tie for seventh last week at the Dana Open presented by Marathon. She only made two bogeys throughout the week – which came on days one and three on Nos. 7 and 5, respectively – the least of any player in Cincinnati. She also finished second in the field in birdies made (23) and was third in greens in regulation (59 of 72), and said she feels even more confident in her game after almost becoming the season’s ninth Rolex First-Time Winner of the season.
“It proves again to myself that I could have done it. I'm going to keep trying, but each of the time I haven't get it I'm getting closer and I have some lesson learned,” said Lin. “More time I experience, I guess like more experience I'm going to get, and then it's just going to benefit the future.”
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