Sun Shines on Yin in Florida

Singapore: China’s Yin Xiaowen has bounced back from her Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) disappointment with a commanding performance in America.

One of the pre-tournament favourites at last month’s third edition of the WAAP, Yin struggled to find her top form, settling for a share of 16th place at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Undeterred, Yin strengthened her status as the eighth best player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) after coming from three shots behind to win the Sunshine State Amateur at El Campeon Golf Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.

A closing 73 in windy conditions saw Yin post a one-over 217 to add the victory to the other eight tournaments she’s won over the last two years.

Among those successes were a five-stroke win in the 2020 Zhangjiagang Shuangshan Challenge, enabling her to become the youngest winner in China LPGA Tour history.

Another Asian female in fine form is Chinese-Taipei’s Huang Ting-hsuan.

Last week, Huang practically lapped the field to win the 2021 Future Challenge #4 at Lily Golf & Country Club in her homeland.

She returned rounds of 71, a tournament low 69 and 74 for a 214 aggregate to win by 14 shots. The previous week, Huang triumphed in the National Senior High Championship (Under-18).

She has risen to a personal best WAGR position for the second straight week, advancing seven places to 143rd.

On the men’s front, Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat saved his best for last on his Asian Tour debut.

The 14-year-old Thai player began the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship with rounds of 71 and 72 before closing with 68 and 65 to post a 12-under 276 total.

It was good enough for a tied-15th finish to add to a string of good performances in his last five appearances in All Thailand Golf Tour events, a run in which he’s made the cut in each and includes second and fifth place finishes against the professionals.

On the back of his latest effort, TK has attained his highest WAGR position with a jump of 44 places to 167th.

He’s looking for a further improvement this week at the Asian Tour’s Laguna Phuket Championship.