Though there are lots of good pals on the LPGA Tour, it’s not often that they stand side by side at the top of the leaderboard at a major championship. But Ruoning Yin and Xiyu Lin are just that good right now.
The super stars from the People’s Republic of China have hit their stride just in time for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, sitting together at T2 with a pair of bogey-free, 4-under 67s at Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course, a venue that tested and beat some of the best in the world on Thursday.
“It’s amazing,” Yin told the media after her round. “I can see her name and my name together on the top of the leaderboard. I met her five years ago, I think we got that click. That first time I met her, I know we’re going to be good friends.”
But the pair are more than just friends. They’re actually tenant and landlord as Yin currently rents Lin’s old house in Orlando, Fla. There’s pros and cons to playing on the LPGA with your landlord, one con being they know exactly how much you make.
“After she won, I’m like, ‘I need to raise the rent, it’s way too low for you now,’” Lin joked.
But a pro is that the two best buds live just twenty minutes apart and they meet for dinner whenever their busy travel schedules allow. Yin said she sees Lin as a mentor and a big sister. Though Lin is reluctant to accept the praise from her younger counterpart, she admits to helping Yin with hotels and flights when she first joined the Tour.
“I don’t think I’m really a mentor because I also learn from her,” Lin explained. “I just remember when I met her back in '19, she wasn’t even 18 years old, and she came up and asked me what would be the proper way to get on the LPGA. There’s not many like 16, 17-year-olds that are planning that far ahead.
“The more I talked to her, the more I feel like she’s definitely way more mature than her age, and she has very clear goals. She’s not scared of anything. It’s good to see – I’m not old – but it’s good to see younger people doing that and inspire myself to push myself a little harder or be a little more aggressive.”
After their rounds, neither was surprised to see the other at the top of the leaderboard. Just over two months ago, Yin became the second player from the People’s Republic of China to win on the LPGA Tour at the DIO Implant LA Open and the 20-year-old hasn’t let the momentum pass her by, carding two more top 20 finishes since. And after a 2022 season that saw three runner-up finishes, Lin is still knocking on the door, again finishing runner up at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro after losing in a playoff to Australian Hannah Green.
“I’m not surprised,” Yin said. “Janet has a pretty solid game too and I’m not surprised she can shoot 4-under at this course, maybe 5-under.”
Lin responded in-kind: “I know Ruoning is going to do well. She’s a good iron player. She’s also very passionate, and she’s a lot younger, more aggressive.”
Though there’s lots of golf left to be played, the pair have put themselves in a good position at Baltusrol where par is turning out to be a very good score. But if Yin takes another trophy home to Orlando, she might have Lin knocking on her door to raise the rent.
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