Ruoning Yin didn't just climb the leaderboard on Friday. She did it in the most dramatic way possible.

The 21-year-old Chinese golfer made her first-ever hole-in-one on the seventh hole during her second round at the Blue Bay LPGA on Hainan Island, China, on March 6, 2026. A lot of fans in the crowd, including her mother, were cheering for the star's greatest achievement.

"My mom was actually screaming," Yin said after her second round at the Blue Bay LPGA. "I can hear from like miles away. I think this is the first one I actually saw it go in. It was pretty special," she added.

Sometimes, the best way to stop a bad stretch of holes is with a hole-in-one. Yin was having a difficult moment in her round. Her swing was not getting at its best, and it started to affect her score.

Then she hit an 8-iron, and the ball went straight into the hole. The hole was 153 yards away, and there was a light breeze from left to right. The wind was behind her, and her caddie told her to aim straight at the flag.

She took her caddie’s advice and hit the ball with an 8-iron. The golfer didn't know that taking her caddie's advice would lead to a perfect shot.

She later said it was a perfect shot, a small cut that looked good all the way through. The best part was that she saw the ball go into the hole. 

In golf, players often lose sight of the ball in the air and have to guess where it lands. This time, she watched it drop right into the cup. This was the third hole-in-one of her career, which is already a lot for someone her age. Her last two happened in 2023.

A $20,000 Shot for Kids Who Need It Most

The story becomes even better after that. The LPGA has a program called the CME Group Cares Challenge. 

Every time a player makes a hole-in-one during a tournament, $20,000 is donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Yin did not even know about this program while she was playing. She only found out about the donation after her round when someone told her.

"That definitely means a lot," she said. "I hope I can make more hole-in-ones and just help the kids."

It is hard not to support someone who says something like that. As for how she planned to celebrate, it was nothing big. She said it would just be lunch, a quiet dinner, and some milk tea with her family. That was her way of celebrating.

"On the course, I think I'm pretty extroverted,"  

"The fans are amazing this week."

It fits her personality well because she says she is an introvert when she is off the golf course. But when she is playing in front of a crowd, she becomes a very different person.

Did you catch Ruoning Yin's hole-in-one moment? Tell us what you think of her game this week!

Read more at Daily Club Golf!

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Kalp Thaker