BEIJING (Reuters) – Shanghai teenager Yin Ruoning won her third successive tournament at the start of her professional career with a one-stroke victory at the China LPGA’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Orient Masters on Friday.
The 17-year-old won at the season-opening Zhuhai Hollywood Mansion Challenge in her first professional outing and backed that up with a second triumph at the Moutai Golf Liquor Zhuhai Golden Gulf Challenge last week.
Yin kept up her extraordinary run of form this week with rounds of 68, 69 and 69 at the par-72 Xiamen Orient course for a third win and a cheque for 100,000 yuan ($14,622).
“Three straight wins definitely is a great achievement. It’s an incredible start for my professional career,” Yin said.
“Last week (the tour operations director) said step on the gas and try to win back-to-back. I said I wanted three straight wins. He said no one ever did that. I’m really happy I did it today.”
Zhang Weiwei, who won the tour’s Order of Merit last season, shot a flawless final round 66 but even that was not enough to rein in Yin and she finished second.
($1 = 6.8388 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, Editing by Kim COghill)
