In this week’s ‘The Starter,’ Hye-Jin Choi’s lead in Shanghai disappeared on the back nine as Ruoning Yin claimed another hometown victory. In New Delhi, Eugenio Chacarra finished seven holes from his third-round Sunday morning, built a five-shot advantage and still had to fend off Daniel Hillier over the final 18. His win moved him past Patrick Reed in the Race to Dubai with three tournaments left to play.

LPGA TOUR: Shanghai Asked Something Different of Yin This Time

Ruoning Yin’s two Buick LPGA Shanghai victories are separated by two years and 14 strokes on the winning scoreboard. In 2024, she finished 25 under at Qizhong Garden Golf Club and won by six. This year the tournament moved to Sheshan Golf Club, and 11-under 277 was enough for a one-shot victory. Comparing the scores directly would ignore the change in venue, but the contrast shows how differently she had to win this time.

Yin began Sunday two strokes behind Choi, who had led after all three rounds. Yin’s 4-under 68 moved her past Choi’s 71, while Amy Yang finished third at 8 under after a 72. The title was Yin’s seventh on the LPGA Tour and second of 2026.

Friday had made the hometown win look a little less likely. Yin opened with 68 before a 74 slowed her progress. A bogey-free 67 on Saturday put her back within reach. On Sunday, she and Choi were level by the 10th and remained tied through 15. Yin made birdie at the 16th from four feet and added another at the par-3 17th. Choi birdied the last, but Yin closed with par to finish one ahead.

Yin’s form also reached back to August. She won the FM Championship at TPC Boston on Aug. 30 and made no other LPGA start before Shanghai. The two victories came in consecutive starts, seven weeks apart. And while the crowds again had a Shanghai native to celebrate, Sheshan was hosting the Buick LPGA Shanghai for the first time.

Choi’s Next Opportunity Comes at Home

Choi deserves more than a line about losing the lead. Her opening 64 established the early lead, and she stayed in front through Saturday. Consecutive bogeys at Nos. 7 and 8 on Sunday cost her control of the leaderboard, yet she was close enough for a birdie at 18 to matter. A final-round 71 was one under par. She was beaten by a 68.

That distinction matters. Choi has now held or shared the lead after 54 holes five times without winning. The 27-year-old remains winless through 124 LPGA Tour member starts, and Shanghai was her second runner-up finish this season. Next is the BMW Ladies Championship, beginning Thursday at Pine Beach Golf Links in South Korea. She returns to her home country with another opportunity to finish the job.

Others in the field were playing for a different sort of finish. Soo Bin Joo closed with a 67 to tie for eighth, helping her pursuit of a place in the CME Group Tour Championship. That season-ending field takes the top 60 players and ties on the Race to CME Globe points list. A Sunday that did not decide the Shanghai trophy still meant plenty to a player trying to reach Naples.

DP WORLD TOUR: Chacarra Becomes the Player to Catch

Chacarra won the DP World India Championship at 21-under 267, two clear of Hillier, and left Delhi Golf Club leading the Race to Dubai. Reed, who had led the season-long standings, tied for 23rd at 8 under. Rory McIlroy finished tied for 42nd at 4 under after a closing 74. Chacarra was now ahead of both in a race that will be decided next month.

India is where his DP World Tour career changed direction. Playing the 2025 Hero Indian Open on an invitation, he earned his first title at DLF Golf and Country Club. He returned this year for a different championship on a different course, already having added the KLM Open and Italian Open in June. Sunday’s trophy was his third of 2026 and fourth DP World Tour title overall.

The week had become an endurance test long before the trophy presentation. Almost five hours were lost to storms Thursday, and Chacarra returned Sunday with seven holes still to play in round three. He covered those holes in five under, including an eagle at the last, for a 63 and a five-shot lead. The final round was still ahead of him.

He briefly stretched that advantage to six. Hillier’s back-nine charge reduced it to two, and Chacarra needed a recovery from trouble at the 16th to save par and keep him at a distance. A closing 70 completed 25 holes for the day. Chacarra had also been playing with a recently fractured toe, and he later described the fatigue of waking at 4 a.m. three days in a row. The comfortable margin from Sunday morning was long gone by the time he finished.

Three Events Remain, Including Two With Extra Points

Chacarra replaces Reed at No. 1, with McIlroy third, but the Harry Vardon Trophy has not been awarded. The Genesis Championship in South Korea comes next, followed by the Abu Dhabi Championship and the DP World Tour Championship in November. Both events in the United Arab Emirates are part of the Rolex Series and carry increased Race to Dubai points. Chacarra has earned an advantage, not a guarantee.

He also spoke after the victory about wanting to qualify automatically for Europe’s 2027 Ryder Cup team rather than rely on a captain’s pick. That goal reaches beyond November, but his three-win season makes it more than a passing remark. Reed and McIlroy still have opportunities to reclaim the Race to Dubai lead, but Chacarra is the player they now have to catch.

The Closing Thought

Yin has won the same tournament twice in Shanghai. The first came at 25 under on one course, the second at 11 under on another. Chacarra has now won twice in India, too, but the first victory earned him full DP World Tour status and the second put him atop its season-long rankings. The places are familiar. Almost everything about what the victories demanded was different.

Choi gets her own home-country stop next at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea, still chasing her first LPGA title. Her Shanghai result will remain on her record, but none of those strokes carry into Thursday. For Chacarra, the points from Delhi do carry forward. Those are two very different consequences of a Sunday in October, and both will shape what comes next.