A birdie. A lead. And an ice cream.
China’s Ruoning Yin chipped in a birdie on the final hole Saturday to take the lead at the FM Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.
In the process, she won an ice cream.
“My coach, he told me if I made birdie on the last hole, he will buy my ice cream, and I think we are on 10 right now,” Yin said. “Cookies and cream would be my go-to. Second one is going to be mint chocolate.”
Yin didn’t say which flavor her 4-under-par 68 netted her, but it did give her a one-stroke lead over the field at 12 under.
It also showed resilience. Yin shook off bogeys on Nos. 1 and 4 and countered with birdies on Nos. 2, 6, 9, 12, 16 and finally on 18.
The 23-year-old boasts five career wins, and she has a pair of second-place finishes this year.
“Patience,” Yin said. “I think my coach and I had a deep talk early this week, and I think we both knew that it’s coming. Just, yeah, all I need to do is just be patient and play my game and everything else will come.”
South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim, tied for the lead a day earlier, is now tied for second with fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim at 11 under. Sei Young Kim’s day included five birdies, an eagle and a double bogey as she carded 67. Hyo Joo Kim had four birdies and two bogeys as she recorded a 70.
Hyo Joo Kim lamented her putting while also acknowledging the opportunity still in front of her.
“I just want to make sure I’m getting on the green so I’m able to make those putts tomorrow,” she said.
Somi Lee, also of South Korea, shot a 70 to tie Jenny Bae (72) for fourth, four shots off the lead at 8 under.
Lee spoke about so many South Koreans competing at the top of the leaderboard.
“There are so many players that are good in Korea,” Lee said, “and my hope is that they’re able to come up to the LPGA and compete, and I want to be able to show how good the players in Korea are.”
Friday co-leader Allisen Corpuz had a rough day, shooting a 2-over 74 as she fell into a tie for sixth with five other golfers at 7 under. The other co-leader, Japan’s Miyu Yamashita, shot 75 and fell into a tie for 12th at 6 under.
