Xiyu Lin wasn't the only one who found the water off the tee on the par-5 18th hole, but she had the most to lose. Lin came to the final hole at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in a tie for the lead, needing a birdie to move to 8-under and separate herself from the pack, but found the pond that stretches along the left side of the fairway, ultimately making bogey to drop to 6-under and put a kibosh on any playoff hopes for the 27-year-old from the People's Republic of China. It was a heartbreaking way to lose another opportunity at her first LPGA Tour victory, but considering she began the day in a tie for eighth at 2-under, Lin was pleased to wind up T3 at 6-under overall.
"It was still a good day. I gave it all I have. Unfortunately, I didn't hit a good tee shot on the last hole. But it could have happened any other hole. I think overall I gave myself good chances. It's still a really good Sunday to have a lot to take away from," said Lin, who carded five birdies in her opening nine holes. "I definitely felt really good with my swing today, way better than yesterday. Yesterday I had terrible ball striking, so that kind of caused a bad score. I just keep telling myself that might as well keep going. I gave myself lots of good chances. These greens aren't easy. All the putts break a lot. Unfortunately, I didn't make them."
This is Lin's third top-five finish of the 2023 LPGA Tour season – she finished T2 at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro and T3 at last week's Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give – and her seventh since the beginning of 2022. While it's frustrating to continue to come this close and not break through, Lin knows she's still playing some great golf at a pivotal point in the season and is trending in the right direction, with three more major championships on tap in the coming weeks.
"I'll be finishing two weeks of top three, so overall, it's a good result," she said. "I've been stepping down and doing some changes of myself, my swing, my thoughts. It's still great to see it works out. U.S. Open is in another week, so that's another opportunity, and I think I'm in good shape going into it."
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