After a recent run that has included a T6 in the final Major of the year, the AIG Women’s Open, and a third Solheim Cup appearance for Team USA at Finca Cortesin, Angel Yin now has her first LPGA Tour victory after beating World No.1 Lilia Vu in a playoff at the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
Following the win, the 25-year-old revealed it was inspired by tennis player Andrey Rublev and former Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster.
Yin explained she took in the tennis match between Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov the night before her decisive final round in China as the pair went head to head at the Shanghai Masters, and she was particularly impressed by what she saw from the Russian.
She said: “So I went to tennis. Went to watch the Shanghai Masters, which is pretty much the biggest tournament other than the Majors. And I was watching the first match and then the second match, Rublev, and it was a really tough match between Dimitrov, and I just saw him like express himself very well on the court. It wasn't like he was just completely emotionless.”
Andrey Rublev inspired Angel Yin to her maiden LPGA Tour win
“And I was like you know, I've been thinking about that a lot last night, and then today I start out pretty mellow. Not much, kind of flat-lining. Nothing was happening. I was like: ‘You know what, I think I'm going to draw on my emotions.”
That’s something Yin said she has previously been reluctant to do, because she had always been taught to keep her emotions in check while learning the game. She continued: “Growing up everyone taught me to be stone faced, no emotions, poker face. I don't think that fits me. What fitting me right now is I'm doing to express myself.”
As well as Rublev, Yin went on to explain that Inkster had also encouraged her to let her feelings show on the course. She said: "It's funny because we've been talking about this a lot for the past few years. I've been speaking to Juli Inkster about it. I don't really feel much emotions on the golf course. She was like, no, that's not good.
“I want you to get mad again. I got a lot of emotions and I think started doing again and I started playing well. That helped me a lot, to be able to be expressive and not just flat lining on the golf course.”
Yin could certainly take inspiration from worse role models. Rublev won the semi-final match in straight sets over Dimitrov and, although he lost in the final, he is currently World No.5.
As for Inkster, as well as captaining the Americans to two Solheim Cup wins, she has more victories in the match as a player than any other American. Her playing career also brought seven Major wins while she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.
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