Playing alongside your best friend, Ruoning Yin said earlier this week, is always going to be fun.

It doesn't hurt, certainly, that Yin's best friend on the LPGA Tour is Jeeno Thitikul, arguably the most consistent and highest-performing player on the Tour through 2025.

The defending champs (also known as 'Jin & Ronic,' named after Thitikul's coaches' favorite drink, the gin & tonic) are firmly in the mix again at the DOW Championship after a 2-under opener in alternate shot. They trail the early leaders, Gemma Dryburgh and Cassie Porter, by just two shots.

The duo made an early bogey on the par-4 2nd but added birdies on Nos. 7, 11, and 12 before coming through for the balance of their opening round with a clean card.

Yin admitted they were "not quite there" with their day-one effort. Thitikul interrupted, with a laugh, to say they hadn't woken up yet since it was "too early."

Regardless of the time of day, they've certainly given themselves an early chance at the LPGA Tour's lone team event on the schedule.

"I think overall, a pretty solid start," Yin said.

The duo won by one over Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing last year and were pleasantly surprised to see so many fans out there supporting them. There were a handful of patrons with signs, even.

"It's very surprising, I would say, because I didn't expect that like the fans can have the sign for us. But obviously, everyone loved Jin & Ronic," Yin said.

"I mean, this is the week I'm really looking forward to playing, playing alongside my best friend and also playing here, which always (has) good fans coming to watch us play," Thitikul added. "I'm like, 'Ronni, maybe everyone likes Jin & Ronic.'"

Thitikul has given fans all over the globe plenty to cheer about through 2025. Although she stumbled home Sunday at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Thitikul still finished tied for fourth – her seventh top-10 finish in just 11 starts this season. In fact, Thitikul has just one finish outside of the top-12 on any leaderboard so far this year (minus a missed cut at the U.S. Women's Open presented by Ally) and won the Mizuho Americas Open.

Statistically, she has also put together as tidy of a campaign as any, sitting second in Strokes Gained Total, and remains one of the best both tee-to-green golfers and putters on Tour.

Yin, meanwhile, has been a model of consistency so far in 2025. She's made all 10 cuts so far and has three top-5 finishes in her last four starts – including back-to-back T2s at The Chevron Championship and the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion.

This event marked the beginning of a tremendous run through the second half of 2024 for Yin, as it was the first of three wins. Those three victories came in a span of five starts – a run that also included a tie for second at the AIG Women's Open.

If the pair hopes to be on another trophy hunt come Sunday afternoon, they'll need to take advantage of the best-ball format starting Friday where, Yin said, they would "100 percent" be more aggressive, with everyone in the field eager to post a low number.

"If you miss, you still have your partner there," Thitikul said. "(There) should be more flow than today for sure, because you play your own balls. And then you can be aggressive. If you miss, it's fine. That's pretty much the four-ball strategy."

The strategy and the pairing of Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul has worked out perfectly before. Now, they're hoping for more of the same.

"We were playing intense golf last week (at the KPMG Women's PGA), and then we come into this week just more relaxing and try to have fun out there," Yin said. "Especially, it's very good that I'm not against her this week. It's pretty fun."

Team Jin & Ronic Having Fun on Day One at the Dow Championship

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