China’s Asian Games ladies fire warning shots before attention turns to Hangzhou
- Yin Ruoning shines at Women’s Scottish Open, while Janet Lin Xiyu and Yu Liu play their way into form
- The 20-year-old Yin shoots six-under 66 to finish in third on 12-under 276 in a timely return to form
While there was no victory to celebrate at the US$2 million Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open there were enough warning shots fired by Yin Ruoning and the China contingent to give their Asian Games rivals a fright with the countdown ticking away to next month’s tournament in Hangzhou.
In the end, France’s Celine Boutier never really gave the field a hope at Dundonald Links on Sunday.
She started the day three shots ahead and held the chasing pack at bay to win by two shots at 15-under-par 273 (69-68-66-70).
But behind Boutier there were some quite brilliant rounds played, none more so than that returned by Yin Ruoning, who shot a six-under 66 to finish in third on 12-under 276 (74-69-67-66).
It was a timely return to form for the 20-year-old, who made history by becoming only the second Chinese woman to win a major when she triumphed at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship back in June but who had seen her returns taper off somewhat in more recent tournaments.
Later this week Yin heads to the AIG Women’s Open, being played at the Walton Heath Old Course in Surrey as the last major of the year. But then the Asiad looms large, especially this edition, given it’s on home turf and had been postponed for a year because of the pandemic.
“I feel like my game is coming back,” Yin said. “We have a few tournaments ahead but the Asian Games is going to be a big one. With China hosting, I am super excited and the course is only about three hours from my hometown so that will make it even more special. You just have to look at our team and you know we are super strong.”
