Chandni Canan BauerRuoning Yin won the 2026 FM Championship by two shots after a Sunday that spent much of its time refusing to behave.
A closing 70 took her to 14 under, two clear of Hyo Joo Kim, but the margin flatters the calmness of the finish. For much of the round, Yin moved in and out of the lead with Kim and Sei Young Kim, a three-player argument conducted with scorecards rather than raised voices.
Ruoning Yin Recovers From an Untidy Start
Yin began with a birdie and two bogeys in her opening four holes, hardly a prescription for a quiet afternoon. Back-to-back birdies at six and seven repaired the early damage before another bogey arrived at the par-four 10th.
She answered again with birdie at 12 and kept herself in position for the closing holes.
There was a broader pattern behind that resilience. Yin made 24 birdies over four rounds, more than anyone else in the field. She did not win by eliminating mistakes; she won because she kept making enough birdies to survive them.
Hyo Joo Kim Keeps the Pressure On
Hyo Joo Kim supplied the most persistent challenge. Her final-round 71 included a bogey at the fourth, birdies at seven, nine and 10, then a bogey at 16 that cost her a shot at precisely the wrong moment.
She finished at 12 under, two behind Yin, for her sixth top-10 finish of the season. Sei Young Kim was also part of the lead exchange for much of the day, so nobody was granted the luxury of treating the back nine as a ceremonial stroll.
A Bold 18th Settles the 2026 FM Championship
Yin reached the par-five 18th with the tournament still requiring a proper finish. She went for the green in two and left herself 18 feet for eagle. Two putts later, the birdie was secured and so was the title.
It was an appropriate ending to a week in which attacking golf had been her most reliable currency. The closing birdie ended a 672-day wait for another LPGA Tour victory; her previous win came at the 2024 Maybank Championship.
This was the sixth victory of Yin’s LPGA Tour career and the first time she had won an event on her debut appearance.
Yin’s Sixth LPGA Tour Win Carries Weight
Yin is now sixth in the 2026 Race to the CME Globe, with one win and seven top-10 finishes this season. She has earned $2.5 million in official season money.
Across her career, she has six LPGA Tour wins, 27 top-10 finishes and $9.9 million in official earnings. Her major title remains the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
She also became only the sixth player in the last 15 years to reach six LPGA Tour wins, including a major, before the age of 24, and the first to do so since Nelly Korda. Among players from the People’s Republic of China, only Shanshan Feng has more LPGA Tour victories; Yin remains four wins behind her.
Yin’s explanation for returning to the winner’s circle was less about mechanics than perspective.
“I think I have quite a few times that I was really close but just keep missing by one or by two. Then I always harsh on myself.
I think I’m doing all the right things; why I’m not winning? Of course in this case you will doubt yourself. I doubt myself if I can win on this Tour again. So just everything, pressure, expectations, just everything just comes at me. Yeah, I was not a happy person last year, but this year I think I learn a lot.
Yeah, the biggest thing I learn is that life comes from you, not at you. And also good things take time and just be patient about it.”
Golf has produced worse philosophies after a win. It has certainly produced longer ones.
Nordqvist Signs Off Before Solheim Cup Captaincy
Away from the title race, Anna Nordqvist finished tied 38th after an even-par final round in her last round on the LPGA Tour. She had announced her retirement earlier in the week and will captain Europe at the Solheim Cup in two weeks at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands.
That gives the FM Championship a second layer of significance. One career chapter closed while Yin reopened another.
The LPGA Tour’s next regular-season stop is the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, starting on 25 September.
Yin will arrive there with a trophy, a restored winning habit and rather less reason to wonder whether another victory is coming. At the 18th, she did not wait for the tournament to come to her. She went after it.
