MANILA, Philippines — Chinese Ruoning Yin foiled Yuka Saso’s determined bid for a second golf major title, edging the Fil-Japanese ace by one shot in a thrilling KPMG Women’s PGA Championship finale Sunday in Springfield, New Jersey.
Yin sank a clutch 15-foot birdie on the final hole at Baltusrol Golf Club to finish at seven-under 276 after a 67 and dash the hopes of Saso, who had returned with a 277 after a 66 in the preceding flight.
Saso banked $875,130 (around P48.79 million) for this runner-up placing – her best showing since winning it all in the US Women’s Open in June 2021.
Yin, the second Chinese woman to cop a major after Shanshan Feng in the 2012 edition, took home a whopping $1.5 million for this feat.
Starting the day down by five, the 22-year-old Saso launched a spirited charge similar to what she did in rallying to force a playoff and eventually clinching her historic US Open triumph two years ago.
The ICTSI-backed Saso gunned down five birdies on the first 15 holes, which lifted her to a three-way tie with Yin and another charging Chinese, Xiyu Lin, at seven-under.
The 22-year-old Tokyo Olympian, however, stumbled with a bogey on the 16th to drop to six-under. She quickly recovered and made a birdie on No. 18 after an impressive shot from the bunker to return to seven-under.
Yin, however, threw a wrench on Saso’s plans when she drained her birdie try inside 15 feet.