Angel Yin called her appearance at last year’s CME Group Tour Championship, a step towards “freedom.”
Yin won the season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge, which came with a $1 million bonus. Combined with $1.7 million in official earnings, it was a profitable 2023 for Yin.
If she continues to play like she did Thursday at Tiburon Golf Club, her return could prove more lucrative.
After making two bogeys in her first four holes in the opening round, Yin carded seven birdies and an eagle for a 7-under 65. She was one shot off the early lead at the season finale.
A win would not only significantly boost her bank account; it would be a drastic contrast to the start of her year.
Yin didn’t compete in a tournament until April because of a broken ankle. After returning with a T-5 at the Match Play event, she withdrew from the Chevron Championship, which she lost in a playoff the year prior.
Yin’s on-course frustration continued for most of the summer as she failed to qualify for the Olympics — which she called spiritually demoralizing — and failed to post a top-30 finish. That changed in August, when she tied for second in Portland, the first of five top-10s in a nine-event stretch.
“I figured out that I just need to trust myself. I didn’t really like, trust myself that much, but I went out and played with Juli Inkster and I [had] not played that great and I think I missed a cut or something. I played with her and shot 8 under with the training aid for a putter. She goes, ‘You know, your problem is you just need to trust yourself.’
“I was like, OK, yeah. So I kind of went off on that and experimented. I got my friend to come out. She’s a golf coach so she’s not really telling me what to do on the golf course. I started doing everything — even my own wind. It sounds funny, but I just started doing everything that I can possibly do, even what a caddie would do, other than carry the bag.”
Yin said last year’s million-dollar bonus allowed her the freedom to hire more team members and get some management assistance (and not stress about missing the first part of the campaign). She was able to pick up a few new sponsors as well.
Asked what a $4 million check would allow for, Yin replied, “Even bigger financial freedom. To me it’s not something I would buy, something I would get, because I’m really happy with my life now. Maybe I would like try to make it better, but I have everything I need.
“Just moving forward would be financial freedom of what I want. All my friends around me, if I could support them, support a group around me, that’s what I like to do in life and where I’m at.”
