Xiyu Lin has continued to knock on the proverbial door to victory on the LPGA Tour. And with a bogey-free, opening round of 66 at the TOTO Japan Classic she has put herself once more on the doorstep to winning her first LPGA Tour Title.
“I haven't win so I think winning is still my goal,” Lin said about her priorities for the season’s closing stretch. “This course suits me a lot. It's a really like pure course with really, really nice greens, so you just need to have some good iron approach and some good putt rolling in, and that's what did I today.”
Lin’s experience competing in this week’s TOTO Japan Classic has been quite different from the last time she competed in the country, when she represented China during the Tokyo Olympic games in 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic there were no spectators allowed to attend the games where Lin came away tied for ninth.
“I'm so glad I can finally play a tournament in front of a full crowds over in Japan, because we played Olympic without a spectator, so that was a shame,” Lin said after her opening round. “But and today they were so supportive. They were so respectful and they so appreciate like any good shots you hit. I feel so much support out there, and I just love playing in front of them.”
Over the past two seasons, Lin has come closer than ever to earning her breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour. She’s racked up 11 top 10s during the last two years, with five of those being runner-up finishes. Her consistency week in and week out, combined with her no-quit attitude, lifted her to victory in October on the Ladies European Tour where she captured the Aramco Team Series - Hong Kong with a thrilling victory over Jin Young Ko. It was her first professional win since 2019.
“I would say my game is getting better, but hasn't been the best yet,” Lin said about her recent return to the winner’s circle. “So that's something I look forward to see, what can I have when I have my full game on.”
Lin says the Taihelyo Club Minori Course is a scorable one and a venue in which she was able to be aggressive on Thursday. And although she says she’s struggled off the tee in recent weeks, she missed five fairways in round one in Japan, Lin needed just 26 putts to put herself within three strokes of the lead.
“I think everything has been very consistent. Around the greens has been amazing. That save me a lot when sometimes I struggle with the tee shot,” Lin said about her recent form. “To me it's more of a rhythm thing. So it's a really quick fix and I believe I can get it done for the next two weeks.”
The next two weeks are some of the most pressure packed of the season as players are vying for a spot in the field at the CME Group Tour Championship and jockeying for the season’s top honors. Lin is safely into the field for the Tour Championship thanks to her solid performance this season, freeing her up to focus on perhaps the biggest prize of them all - a first win on the LPGA Tour.
“I was a little struggle with the tee shot recently,” Lee said about her form ahead of the season’s closing stretch. “But I just feel like it's last two tournament of the year for me, so I'm just going to give it a final push.”
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