The morning wave of the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic has finished their first 18 holes, with two currently tied for the lead. Xiaowen Yin and Celine Borge signed for an impressive 9-under 63.
Yin, who recently clinched a spot in the Epson Tour’s top-10 and her 2023 LPGA Tour card credits the news from earlier in the week for the motivation today. She set a goal to become No. 1 on the Official Money List and is determined to get there.
“I have a lot more confidence,” said Yin. “And the pressure is off now. I was playing for fun.”
The 17-year-old rookie carded 10 birdies on the day and a lone bogey. With the pressure off, Yin allowed herself to relax, hit it far and play her own game.
“Today my driver was perfect,” said Yin. “I think it hit 13 fairways. My putting was also really good, but you must be on the fairway here.”
Borge went bogey free and carded six consecutive birdies from No. 7 to No. 13.
“It felt really nice [walking off the green],” said Borge. “I didn’t make any big mistakes today.”
Borge played her first 18 with Yin, which they both say helped their own game.
“Xiaowen played really good too, so maybe that helped,” said Borge. “When you see others play well, it makes you play better yourself.”
One stroke behind Yin and Borge, at 8-under, was Grace Kim. The Australian also went bogey free, carding five consecutive birdies from No. 4 to No. 8. She also recorded three on the back nine.
“I hit a lot of shots close to the pin,” said Kim. “So there were a lot of easy birdies. But some were also 20 feet away, so I’m glad I had the putter going today. Bogey free always helps.”
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