'A Dream Come True' - 20-Year-Old Continues Rapid Rise To Become New World No.1

Ruoning Yin has become the new World No.1 - a year after sitting outside of the top 400 - thanks to her third place finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship.

Yin finished on 14 under at the Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, two shots back from the leaders, as Australia’s Minjee Lee took the honours in a tense playoff battle with England’s Charley Hull.

The current Women’s PGA Championship holder has enjoyed a stratospheric rise to the top, having floated between 217 and 146 in the rankings after earning her LPGA Tour card in late 2022.

But since claiming her first LPGA Tour title at the LA Open in April this year, the 20-year-old has continued her march onward thanks to half-a-dozen top-five results.

Now only the second Chinese player ever to take their place as World No.1 - following in the footsteps of Feng Shanshan, who sat top between November 2017 and April 2018 - Yin was almost lost for words when asked for her thoughts on the achievement.

She said: “It means a lot. For me, it's like a dream come true. I got goosebumps. I mean, I think, yeah, world number one is the big step on the way to chasing Shanshan. Yeah, I'm just - I’ve got a brain blank right now. I don't know what to say. Maybe I can't say something until I finally see my name as world number one.”

Heading into the Kroger Queen City Championship, the 20-year-old knew she needed a top-four result to overtake American Lillia Vu as World No.1 and become the fifth different pole sitter this season.

With another stellar week in her back pocket, Yin has secured either third or tied-third finishes in four of her past five events - an extraordinary level of consistency which has fuelled her ascent to the summit.

Adding in just one missed cut since the turn of the year - arriving at the Amundi Evian Championship - Yin has regularly been able to stay in contention for silverware.

Discussing her level of consistency in 2023, she said: “Yes, third again. But yeah, I'm pretty comfortable. Every week, I know I'm in a good spot, and every week I can put myself into that winning circle. It's just amazing to see myself play good, but also consistent.”