20 Things You Didn't Know About Ruoning Yin

Ruoning Yin is one of golf’s brightest stars, with the Chinese sensation winning her maiden Major at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the age of 20.

She has another LPGA Tour win under her belt, too, and has already reached the World No.1 spot just three years after turning professional.

Get to know her better with these 20 facts…

Ruoning Yin facts:

1. She is from Shanghai, China.

2. She started playing golf at the age of 10 and got into the game because of her dad, who she said “used to be super good”, with a best score of seven-under-par.

3. She represented China at the 2018 Asian Games whilst just 16 and won a bronze medal in the women’s team category.

4. She won nine tournaments in 2019 as an amateur, including the China National Amateur Championship.

5. Her nickname is Ronni.

6. She turned pro in 2020 at the age of 17.

7. Yin played on the China LPGA Tour in her first season as a pro and won her first three tournaments in a row, setting a new record for the tour.

8. She earned her 2022 LPGA Tour card at the 2021 LPGA Q-Series. Her score of 21-under par for eight rounds at Alabama Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail saw her finish T4th.

9. She won her first LPGA Tour title at the 2023 DIO Implant LA Open.

10. She won her maiden Major title at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol, finishing at eight-under-par to beat Yuka Saso by a shot thanks to a birdie on the 72nd hole.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

11. She is a huge Steph Curry fan and received a congratulations message from the NBA legend after her Women’s PGA Championship win.

12. She is just the second Chinese golfer to win a Major after Shanshan Feng and is also just the second Chinese woman to win on the LPGA Tour after Feng.

13. She became World No.1 in September 2023.

14. She finished fourth on the 2023 LPGA Tour money list with $2,894,677.

15. She had a scoring average of 69.95 for the 2023 LPGA Tour season, which ranked sixth.

16. Yin is sponsored by Callaway Golf.

17. She lives in Orlando, Florida and rents a house off of fellow Chinese LPGA Tour player Xiyu Lin.

18. She idolizes Shanshan Feng and admits she is chasing her 10 LPGA Tour wins.

19. She played a lot of basketball as a child and also did swimming and running.

20. When she was four her dad required stitches after she hit him over the head with a golf club at the driving range. “The first time I go to the driving range was with my dad when I was four,” she explained. “I think he was teaching my mom how to swing. He was standing behind me, and he told me, don’t swing, because I was grabbing a club, and he goes, don’t swing. I did one swing anyway, and I just hit his head and he got I think four stitches. It wasn’t very fun.”