All good things come to an end, or at least that was the case Saturday for Ruoning Yin (Shanghai, China) and her bogey-free streak, which reached 53 holes before a double bogey on No. 18 of the Panther Course at Plantation Golf & Country Club. Nonetheless, the 19-year-old managed a 3-under par 69 in the third round of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II for a one-shot lead with 18 holes remaining.
“I can’t complain about 53 holes and no bogey,” said Yin, who recorded five birdies this afternoon and is 13-under overall. “Last hole, yeah, I don’t know what came through my mind. It just happened.”
Her goals remained the same—hit 10 fairways and 12 greens in regulation—but she added one twist: no three-putts. It was a different day for Yin, yet it yielded another full checklist of goals reached. While she typically rewards herself with a movie or show of choice with Breaking Bad her guilty pleasure as of late, Yin will take a different route come Monday, regardless of the result in Venice, Fla. on Sunday.
“I just try to make my goal every day and that's it. Tomorrow will be the same as today, just fairways and greens and no three-putts,” Yin said. “Then me and my friend are planning to go to Universal [Studios] on Monday.”
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (Brignoles, France) lurks at -12 following a 5-under 67 on moving day. When asked about tournament medalist honors, her eyes did not lie. It’s a safe bet she has them on one prize.
“I'll keep that for myself,” Roussin-Bouchard said with a massive grin. “I'm obviously thinking about it, but it's more about how I'm going to stick to my process, my routines, and keep the same strategy. It has been working. Maybe tomorrow we can try something, though.”
Rounding out Sunday’s final grouping is amateur Xiaowen Yin (Tianjin, China). The 16-year-old put two eagles on the scorecard at Nos. 9 and 13 of the Panther Course en route to a 6-under 66 for the low round of the day, matched by Jaclyn Lee (Calgary, Alberta, Canada). Xiaowen is one of four players at 9-under overall, while Lee is joined by Jessica Peng (Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei) at -8.
“My driver was pretty good and when I hit on the greens, it was always pretty close to the pin. For those two eagles, I putted good and my second shots into the green was perfect,” said Xiaowen, who is unable to advance to Q-Series due to LPGA Tour age requirements. “The first eagle on No. 9, I drove it well and used a 5-iron to maybe like seven yards. That was great. Second one, drive and 3-wood like 220 out and I hit it to like five yards.
“I'm just here for good experience. I'm here to learn. I will keep up the good work.”
To be eligible for LPGA Q-Series from Nov. 29-Dec. 12 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, a player must finish inside the top 45 plus ties and meet all criteria for LPGA Tour membership. A total of 45 players are 2-under par or better after 54 holes in Stage II, while 52 players are 1-under or better.