Ruoning Yin captures DIO Implant LA Open

Ruoning Yin shot her highest round of the DIO Implant LA Open, but a one-under 70 was good enough for her first LPGA Tour victory by one stroke on Sunday.

Yin, in her second season on the LPGA Tour, had an adventurous round with six birdies and five bogeys at Palos Verdes Golf Club.

She carded rounds of 68, 64 and 67 to share the lead after two rounds and alone atop the leaderboard after the third round in California.

Yin said she knows she can make birdies and told herself to be patient. After she followed a birdie at the second hole with three bogeys, she ran off four straight birdies to close out the front nine.

"I fought so hard today, and I just made three bogeys in a row on the front nine," Yin said afterwards. "I'm so happy that I fought back, and, yeah, from holes six to nine it was great four-birdie (run) out there."

She is the second player in history from China to win on the LPGA Tour, following Shanshan Feng (10 career victories), who last won in 2019 at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

Yin, a resident of Orlando, bogeyed 10 and 13, then birdied 14th hole to get back to 15 under. She made par on her last four holes. She edged England's Georgia Hall, who had a bogey-free round with birdies. It was Hall's second-straight second place after falling short to Celine Boutier in a playoff hole in Arizona last week.

Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit and South Korean Hyo Joo Kim finished tied in third place on 12-under, with Tavatanakit having the best final day finishing six-under with seven birdies.

Leona Maguire tied for 61st place after a closing 71, which featured two birdies and three bogeys, to finish three over for the tournament.