Ruoning Yin is no stranger to making history, and she will have a chance to etch her name in the record books on Sunday as she looks to become the first player from the People’s Republic of China to win on home soil at the Buick LPGA Shanghai.

Yin is only the second player from China, along with Shanshan Feng, to have won one of the LPGA Tour’s major championships and reached No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. On Saturday in her native Shanghai, Yin carded a bogey-free round of 63 at Qizhong Garden Golf Club and now sits just one shot back of third-round leader Mao Saigo.

“I think tomorrow I'm playing as a chaser, and I think I have a little goal for myself every day,” said Yin, who will play in the final group on Sunday. “And I think if I'm able to complete my goal, I'm happy about whatever the result is.”

Yin put on a beautiful display of ball striking on Saturday, missing just one fairway and needing only 26 putts, tied for the fewest needed on Moving Day. This week, Yin leads the field in greens in regulation, missing only five greens through 54 holes.

These statistics are a vast improvement from what we’ve seen from Yin throughout the season, and the biggest reason why she hasn’t been able to find the winner’s circle on her own can be attributed to the fact that she is hitting fewer fairways and fewer greens this season.

Finding greens has been a challenge this year as Yin has dropped from 18th last season in greens in regulation at 73 percent to 69 percent this year, which ranks 51st on the LPGA Tour. This year, she is also hitting fewer fairways on average, dropping from 77 percent of fairways hit when she joined the tour in 2022 to 61st this season at 72 percent. It’s a weakness she has sought to address with her coach Holton Freeman, and their work has shown measurable improvement this week in China.

“My coach, Holton, really solved my big problem, which is the tee shots, and I was able to hit really good, solid tee shots the last two days,” Yin said about working on her game. “My iron shot was really solid, and if I can just put a ball on the fairway, I will leave myself a lot of birdie chances.”

Yin comes into the season’s final stretch perhaps more rested than some of her counterparts as she has played a more limited schedule in 2024 than she has in seasons past. The Buick LPGA Shanghai is just her 16th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, but she did add an event to her schedule last week, playing in her native China on the Ladies European Tour at the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Shenzhen where she finished ninth.

Yin was buoyed by overwhelming fan support on Saturday and saw plenty of young girls who aspire to one day play professional golf just like her. During the final round on Sunday, Yin will no doubt lean on her hometown crowd as she looks to win for the second time this season and make history with her first solo victory of the year in her home country.

“I talk to my caddie today on the course. I said it's really good to see all the kids come out to watch,” Yin said. “Even some kids maybe don't know much about golf, but just able to see them running around and come to hang out in the tournament, it gives me goosebumps. I really enjoy playing at home, and I hope I can keep the momentum going for last day.”

Ruoning Yin Chasing Lead and History on Sunday at Buick LPGA Shanghai

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