NAPLES, Fla. – Ruoning Yin knew her rent might be going up after her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Her landlord and fellow LPGA Tour player Xiyu (Janet) Lin hinted as much when the duo was dueling at the top of the leaderboard at the major championship. It turns out, Lin wasn’t kidding.
“Oh, she increase my rent. Not much. It’s still reasonable price.” Yin said with a laugh on Wednesday, but also implored her fellow pro to repair the air conditioning in her Florida home. “I was like ‘Janet, fix it!’”
The increased rent is just one of the many differences Yin, who is making her debut at the CME Group Tour Championship, has experienced during this life-changing season. She said she no longer goes unrecognized in her home country of China and recalled during a recent trip home that she was noticed while walking down the street with her mother. Uncomfortable with her newfound stardom, Yin ran away from her fans and joked about wearing a mask from now on when in public.
“There is two guys walking, just walking to us and said, ‘Is that Ronni? Ronni, Ronni, Ronni.’ I was like, I just grab my mom, like don’t look back. Just go,” Yin said smiling about her fans who were calling her by her nickname. “Feels a little weird. I’m definitely not used to it.”
Yin may be reluctant with her rising notoriety, but she certainly isn’t shying away from what she achieved this season. She joined Shanshan Feng as the only players from China to win a major, with her victory at KPMG, and matched her idol once more this season by reaching No. 1 in the world rankings, which she considers her biggest accomplishment.
“This is the goal since I was 11. I always tell people I want to be the world No. 1. That’s always my goal,” Yin said about reaching the top spot for four weeks. “I didn’t expect this soon, I can reach that spot this soon, but I think for me just matter of time.”
Yin can certainly afford her increased rent with the breakout season she’s enjoyed. She’s third on the money list with more than $2.7 million in earnings and is a strong contender for the $2-million winner’s check on offer this week.
Even the best in the world have rent to pay.