IVINS, Utah — Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 4 Ruoning Yin routed Black Desert Resort on Moving Day in Ivins, Utah, firing a bogey-free, 10-under 62 in the third round of the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion to sit in solo second with 18 holes remaining in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

The People’s Republic of China native began round three in a tie for 24th at 6-under overall, having carded scores of 71 and 67 over the first 36 holes in the Beehive State. She then shot out of the gate on Moving Day, making two birdies in her first three holes on Nos. 2 and 3 to move to 8-under total.

Yin then picked up a second pair of back-to-back birdies on the par-4 6th and par-5 7th holes and finished off her front nine with a birdie on the par-5 9th hole to turn in 31 at 11-under overall. The major champion kept that pace up on the back nine at Black Desert Resort, rattling off four consecutive birdies on holes 12 through 15 to climb to 15-under for the tournament. She landed one last birdie on the par-5 18th hole to polish off a scoring-record-setting 62, what is also the lowest 18-hole score of the five-time LPGA Tour winner’s young Tour career.

“Everything,” Yin said with a smile when asked what’s been working well this week. “I think basically my putting is very good. It's on spot. Then also my approach shot give myself a lot of chances to make birdies. And also, we got couple of short par 5s and par 4s, which is also going to help the low score.

“Honestly, I did not see (a 62) coming. But after the first day here and shooting pretty low, I was like, okay, that's doable. I just tried to put the ball on the fairway, green and make some putts.”

Yin came to the Black Desert Championship in good form, having found herself in the five-person playoff that ensued last week at The Chevron Championship, the first of the five major tournaments that are contested annually on the LPGA Tour. The 22-year-old tied for second in The Woodlands, Texas after three-putting the first extra hole from approximately 15 feet to miss out on earning a second career major victory and her sixth LPGA Tour title.

It was a finish that was incredibly disappointing for the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner, as it felt like the tournament was hers to win after she put her second shot on the par-5 18th hole at The Club at Carlton Woods to close proximity. But Yin seems to have put that frustrating final result squarely behind her as she is now just two strokes back of 54-hole leader Haeran Ryu at 16-under overall and well within striking distance of her sixth victory on the LPGA Tour at the Black Desert Championship.

And after dealing with soggy conditions that were an ever-present challenge throughout last week in the Lone Star State, Yin, who ranked seventh on Tour in strokes gained approach (+1.18) and 15th in strokes gained tee to green (+1.28) before this week, has also enjoyed taking advantage of her ball-striking abilities at Black Desert Resort and giving herself plenty of birdie opportunities on which to convert.

“This course, you got to put your ball on the fairway,” Yin said. “Some holes might be a little narrow, but I just use shorter clubs, even if I have longer approach shots. But it's safe, you know. At least I can make par, and I can try to make birdie at other holes.”

If the Utah winds don’t blow too hard, Sunday’s final round at the Black Desert Championship will likely see another slew of low scores fired by the 69 players remaining in the field. And with that in mind, Yin is doing her best not to linger too much on her Saturday 62, already looking forward to her last 18 holes at Black Desert Resort and preparing to chase down Ryu as she works to find the winner’s circle for the first time this season on the LPGA Tour.

“Tomorrow is going to be a brand new day,” said Yin. “I'm just going to keep saying this: Stay in the present, and the past is the past. You cannot guarantee every day is gonna be a good day like today, but you got to keep trying and keep trying to have a great day.”

Ruoning Yin Routs Black Desert Resort With a 62 on Moving Day in Utah

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