The par-5 eighth hole. Choi Hye-jin's third shot found the penalty area in front of the green. On a hole where she needed to pick up a stroke, she dropped one instead. The ominous sign held. Choi collapsed at the doorstep of victory on the final day of the LPGA Tour's Buick LPGA Shanghai.
In the fourth and final round at Sheshan International Golf Club (par 72) in Shanghai on the 18th, Choi carded a 1-under 71 with three birdies and two bogeys. Her 10-under 278 total left her alone in second place. She finished one stroke behind champion Yin Ruoning, who closed at 11-under 277.
Since joining the LPGA Tour in 2022, Choi has carried the unwelcome label of a player who wins everything but trophies. Through this event, she has made 124 starts with 34 top-10 finishes, including five runner-up results, but no victory. Given her 12 career wins on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, the drought remains a mystery.
Choi had led through three rounds, raising expectations for a breakthrough. Starting the final round alone atop the leaderboard by one stroke, she appeared to be cruising after shaving a shot at the par-3 fourth hole. But she made consecutive bogeys at the par-4 seventh and the par-5 eighth.
On the back nine, Yin drew level with a birdie at the par-4 10th. Choi recovered a stroke at the par-3 12th, but Yin birdied the same hole.
The balance broke at the par-4 16th. Yin, ranked sixth in the world and a silver medalist at this year's Asian Games, stuck her approach close and picked up a stroke. She added another birdie at the par-3 17th. That settled the outcome. Choi birdied the par-5 18th, but no holes remained.
The win gave Yin her second title of the season and the seventh of her career. She earned $480,000.
Amy Yang finished third at 8-under, and Kim A-lim tied for sixth at 5-under.