No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 736: Angel Yin

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

Big Randy is on location at this week's LPGA Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati. Ahead of the tournament he catches up with Angel Yin to talk about her road back from a difficult patch in her career, learning to coach herself and own her swing, her close calls at notching her first win during the 2023 season and the upcoming Solheim Cup matches in Spain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to be the right club today. Yes. That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back into the No Laying Up Golf Podcast. My name is Randy. Have a good one for you today. And I am on location.

I am here in Cincinnati, Ohio at the LPGA's Croger Queen City Championship this weekend. So excited. There's an LPGA event in my hometown. The course is great. The weather's going to be great this weekend. If you have been to be listening and you live anywhere in the Tri-State area, bring your kids, bring yourself, bring some friends.

It's going to be a great weekend of golf at Kenwood Country Club. I have an interview today with Angel Yinn. We're going to get into a number of topics. Of course, we're going to talk about the Soulheim, what that means to her. Honestly, what missing the 21 team meant to her. We're going to get into her golf game. She hit a bit of a law in 2021. We'll get into why and then what she has done over the last couple of years to really turn it around and into a spot where she has been in contention in a number of big tournaments this year.

Of course, probably most notably, the Chevron back in April. She made it into the playoff. I ask her about that. She is just one of our favorites on tour. She always speaks her mind. She's always got some strong takes, and I think you'll enjoy it. Before we dive into that interview, though, let me thank our sponsor. And that is our good friends at Titleist. This episode is brought to you by Titleist and specifically the Voki

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They asked me a few weeks ago. They said, Randy, do you want team USA? Do you want team Euro? I said, how could I possibly choose my guy, TC. He needs people to ride with them. So I said, go ahead and send me a team Euro wedge. I know that's blasphemous, but I've enjoyed putting in the bag. Great time of year to be repinate, very cool designs. And if you would like it, head over, like I said, to Vokey.com. The flagging cravings are available for limited time on all SM-9 wedges offered in a brushed steel finish.

That's all 25 loft bounce and grind options and the Vokey SM-9 lineup available in both right and left handed. And again, to order yours and see which SM9 wedge fits your game the best. Visit Vokey.com V-OK-E-Y.com. I will get out of the way. I hope you enjoy the interview with Angel Yinn. And again, if you happen to be around the Cincinnati area this weekend, come on out to the golf tournament. It's going to be a great time. Cincinnati area this weekend. Come on out to the golf tournament.

It's gonna be a great time. Join today by one of NLU's favorites, Angelian, Angel. Thanks for being on. How are you feeling today? Thank you for having me. I feel good. I didn't know this was your hometown. This is pretty exciting.

Yeah, and I should know this, but did you play last year in Cincinnati? I did, I did. I actually was like last few groups. It's playing pretty well. And then I didn't play that one the last day, but that was like a shootout course because it rained out.

And then if you didn't shoot like five or six under, you kind of were gonna go backwards. All right, you're 24 years old. You got a birthday coming up. You're gonna be 25 in October. I wanna start here, Angel. I was reading your bio on the LPJA website, and I want to quiz you.

Do you know what your interests are on the LPJA website? Do you know what it says for your interest? I think it says hibernation, hiking, reading, fishing, probably. It says, Abby's included reading, traveling, adventuring, eating, and hibernating. Yeah. Talk to me about the hibernation. Talk to me about the hibernation. I mean, we're coming up here in the next couple months, right?

Is it a winter hibernation? I know, that is when I disappear. I mean, I disappear a lot. Anyways, my text messages, and I get so much crap for it. But winter is where I really just disappear. I sleep a lot. I don't sleep as much, thankfully. I think I had issues back then, like health issues that didn't know about, but I'll sleep for like 16 hours. I think that kind of went away, which is good. Now I sleep for like 12.

That's still incredible. I'm older than you. I'm going to be 40 next month and like I feel like I can't sleep longer than eight hours anymore. Oh. I wish I could sleep for 12. Anyway, 2023, I think you're having a good year. How would you describe your year thus far? Well, statistically it's like my best season to date, whether I think it's like that good. It like, I don't know how to describe it. It's like I'm playing really like that good. I don't know how to describe it. It's like I'm playing really, really well. I feel like I could be performing even better. Obviously, like a win. This is what I'm hoping for, but overall, I'm just

pretty happy and just pretty happy I'm playing my game and just having it together more. You've put yourself in numerous positions. Is it something? I mean, of course, you think about it. Is there pressure? Do you feel any pressure with that first win? Is that something that you kind of think about? I know that's a little bit of a tough question. I'm sorry, but how much, you know, week to week, is that in your mind? When it comes down to the last day, it's like, is there that much pressure?

Not really. Probably a little bit, not pressure, just the nerves being nervous more. Probably a chevron ever since then. I just disappeared. It's not like, I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing, I'm not come to conclusion on that. I don't know why. Sometimes I think mentally you bad thing, I'm not gonna come to conclusion on that. You know, I don't know why. Sometimes I think mentally you get to somewhere

where you maybe want to get too aggressive and then you just don't score that well. So I'm trying to adjust to that, but I just want another opportunity to see, because it's almost like when I describe Solheim, you have to be in that situation to understand what's going on. And unfortunately, I haven't been able to like finish job yet, but I think every single experience is meaningful and I think that's

also good. And I've been technically in contention every single major and to me that's really big because I think that will be, I think that'll translate into something big in the coming years. And you said Chevron and I wanted to ask you about chevron. It seems like was that a bit freeing then? Almost, obviously coming up just short in the playoff, has that, what have you noticed at the US Women's Open or at the AIG Women's Open?

Has it been a different feeling? Has there been less pressure, stress in that final round for you after Chevron? I think Pebble was more frustrated because I wanted to perform better and then couldn't get anything going and then just kept falling backwards and it got worse and worse and worse.

And then with AIG, it was just, but it was a difficult course to begin with. And then you can't really make mistakes. And then I made a few mistakes. And then you kind of just stay there. Some of the holes, it makes the biggest difference, like I think like one, two, and three. If you don't mess up there, or no fourth, one, two, three, and four.

If you don't mess up there, then you're pretty set to be get under your par or somewhere in the middle. But I messed up one of those two holes, and you know, you just, it's a really tough golf worse, especially with all the Heather and the win that we were playing in. So just happened to be on the last day, because if you take that round and put into the second round, and then you switch the rounds around, then it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Yeah, I want to ask you a little bit more about that,

but I kind of want to go backwards in time a little bit. And back to 2021, you said this is your best statistical season. And I'm just curious, I think it was towards the end of 2021, really after the women's open that year, the British open, a string of tough weeks, miscuts. But just listening to your press conference, you're here directly off of your press conference.

It sounds like, since that time, and I don't know how quickly since that time, you've started making some adjustments in your game. You talked about changing the setup a little bit with your golf clubs. You've talked about making some changes with your swing. Is that kind of the timeframe we're talking about, late 2021 into early 2022, because it seems like,

starting, I don't know why I should ask you, when, when have those changes really started to click for you, do you think? So, 2021, before Soulheim, like British, I was, I think it was playing really, really well. I think I like five, maybe six top 10s, which was really good. And then I, I didn't get into Soulheim.

I felt like I was robbed of a Soulheim, but obviously, when you don't get an on-point, you can't say anything, right? Because you have to play your way in. It's almost like similar to this Soulheim. I didn't have a great 2020 season. I was severely injured for most of it. Well, the entirety of it and then actually carried over to 2021, but he managed because I don't

know, something Emmy was so driven to make soulheim because that was so important in my life. I was like the most important thing in my entire life, like existence and everything, even winning a tournament, like it didn't matter. I just wanted to make Soulheim. And then I think I physically fell apart when I did it make it. I got actually like really, really sick after. But I think it's just like my body was just at its limit because it was pushing so hard to make that goal. But I think on the bright side, to me,

looking back at it, it showed me what I was like, the route I was going down, and that whatever I was doing wasn't working. I just made it work. And so towards the end of 2021, I was playing really, really bad. And then I had to withdraw from CME, like after the second round, I think.

I think that was that year. And then I had to really just like look into my game and then I try to fix it. And then 20, 22, I like was fixing at majority of the year. And so that took a bit of a time because you don't really like fix things that quickly when it's like so engraving you and you're playing constantly. And so, you know, I was trying to fix it. I like, barely held it together to keep my card and my status, like good status. I think it was very fortunate for me with a schedule worked out where I got like three,

four months of rest. And then I got to rest. I got to do like just practice. I had enough time. And then I came back. And then I played my first round in Saudi. Kind of got a taste of where my game is at. From there, it kind of just,

and obviously I missed the cut of the PB, but PB was such a difficult cut. Of course, it's just really tough, but then from there, it kind of just aesthetically went up. And then with Chevron, it was really good. Can you talk about some of the changes that you were working on or some of the old habits that I guess some of the new habits

that you were trying to build in your golf swing? I actually just went back to my basics because I was thinking, like, as a kid, as a junior, what did I lack? I was like, I lacked putting. My putting was also like always just so bad and my ball striking was good. So I was like, okay, now my putting is good. Why is my ball shrinking so bad? So I was like, what did I change? I changed my club. I made it lighter because people in my team were telling me that like my clubs are too heavy and I wasn't really performing on the last day and you know you can't play that heavy of golf a week to week because I think my clubs are the heaviest on tour. Sitting at 125 grams, I play the C-tapers, so it's like a stiff

plus. And then I think they're D3s. So then I got a lot of crap for that in my team, within my team. So I decided to change it during COVID since we started and then had that long break. What I didn't realize is my swing started changing. I was using a lot of hands on my arms and then that created a lot of injuries for my love shoulder like nerve issues and then I just really sat down on 2021, end of 2021. I was like I don't understand what's changing. I wasn't hitting it this bad. Like what am I doing? So I was like okay I only changed my golf clubs. So I was like, you know, I'm going to change it back. So I started looking at everyone's golf swing from anyone on our tour to anyone on the PGA tour. And then obviously Tiger's swing, because it's just

a very textbook. And then I like looked at my own and then I was like okay my firing point is different and so I pinpointed it on my clubs, changed it back and then tried to change my swing along with it and the feel was completely different. And then from there it was just confidence building because once you have what it takes like you just have to build up your confidence to do it because you can play really well, practice round. But when it comes down to the tournament to perform, there's a lot of like anxiety to like, you know, other like negative thoughts that are in your head. And you have to overcome that.

And then that's what I did for majority of last year. And then this year, just try to play golf. You said like pinpointing your firing point, your golf point, your golf swing, and really examining swings. Is that work you're doing on your own? Are you working with a swing instructor? How did that process go?

So, I think I'm a odd person, and I think I got older. I think I got more odd. So I go to see my coach here and there, but I just wanted to do it myself because no one can ever govern yourself, like you better than yourself. And so I, like, just, it was like I have to govern myself. And then that's what I did. And I felt like I lacked as much knowledge as I had of the swing. I lacked a lot of knowledge to have my swing fall apart so much. So that to me, like at that time, I like took that upon myself. Like, okay, I messed up. It wasn't anyone else. It was not my coach.

It was an anyone else. I messed up. And so I was like, okay, I need to do it myself more. I see them to learn more, but majority of the time I'm doing it myself. And I think it's been working. Is that how you've always been with your golf swing? I mean, growing up, were you pretty self-taught or was it a lot of? It was always coaches.

OK. I was always coaches. I saw my coach a lot ever since growing up. Like, I requested for my own swing coach when I was seven. So I've always stuck with a coach. I was very like, textbook growing up. I requested from my own swing coach when I was seven. So, I've always stuck with a coach. I was very like textbook growing up. All my coaches were students of Mac, Mac or Grady, which is really funny. I think it was just coincidence. Like every single coach I went to. And then I really only had two. So it's not a lot.

Technically three, because I really only had two. So it's not a lot. Take me three, because I started seeing Grant a few lessons here and there. And he was, you know, with Mac. And that's Grant Wait. Grant Wait, yeah, Grant Wait. But I'm still with Bobby, you'll ask him. I do see, when I'm in Orlando, because I live in Orlando now,

here and there, like I'll go and see Grant. Not very often, I think I've only had like five lessons for six maybe. But I kind of just like want to learn it myself and change it up a little bit into how to fix it myself. So you're working through 2022 implementing these really kind of old, old feels, old habits. And 2023, you're in a good spot. I mean, do you feel like now, it sounds like you're not playing golf swing per se,

you're out there being aggressive and playing golf. That's gotta be a nice place to be. It is really nice, because you're just playing golf, and you get to enjoy it instead of being so technical, seeing numbers or looking at videos of your golf swing constantly to see, oh, what do I need to do to make it better? Now you can just go out there and play. I love shaping the golf ball and something like really embracing that.

I never actually hit a cut, but now I'm hitting 30 30 yard cuts around the trees or whatnot to just like play golf. I think that's what golf was always about to just play. And I think it's funny because for the last, since COVID, 2020, mostly to 2021 and 2022, I started playing with a lot of members at my golf club. And I really realized that a lot of members at my golf club. And I really realized that a lot of these guys are so good at golf, not because they're good, because they swing like Charles Barkley. And you're like, how?

How is this person playing so good? It's because they're just getting the ball in the hole. And that's what you need to do. And it doesn't matter if it's ugly. When it comes down to that six footer or 10 footer, they're gonna make it for like that $5 they're gonna take out of your pocket. And that's like, that's what it's all about.

It's not even like winning the big bucks. It's about that one or two dollars that they're just gonna rub in your face. Yeah. I don't think they're taking too much money off of you. Come on. No, but it doesn't feel good when it's like close. Yes.

But I'll play as like, so I used to play as a zero. Now this year I decided to play as a plus two. Just to like, Oh, I would make you, I would make you play real life. These people, if any of your club members are listening to this, that's way, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I would make you Okay, we'll ask these people if any of your club members are listening to this that's way no You don't understand they say they're a four, but they'll shoot 72 So I don't think I am Sam begging at all Just a little bit for everyone

You're gonna hate me for asking this, but I have to ask you in light of everything you've said can I ask you about The approach out on 18 at Chevron was that just a bad swing at a bad time? Was that a bad club for the playoff for the playoff? It was a bad club. Okay We were being stupid. Yeah I Think I think this is the thing. I think we were so shocked. Lilia's ball went through the trees on the right. There's nobody's ball went through.

It was like, take no prisoners. The tree was like having hands, grabbing golf balls. And hers went through, I think it clips something. I like it went through though. It was nice. And we were like, and I hit this like 20-year cut to go around the tree. And we were like so shocked.

And then like we were just like, huh, huh. It was shocking because you're like, you're one of the longest players out here. Yeah. Lily is not short, but her position off the tee was so far ahead of yours. It was, I was wondering.

Because she went through the trees. Okay. Because she couldn't really see on the end of on TV. Yeah, she went through the trees. Okay. Because you couldn't really see on the angle on TV. Yeah, she went through the trees. I went like a 20-yard cut. And you know when you hit a cut and you don't hit it, that's all that you lose a bit of distance. Actually, and then also on top of that,

my driver this year, I just can't get my distance there. Like my mini driver goes as far as my actual driver. Like, so I just actually switched to my mini driver since last week, just like I couldn't get my distance there. My mini driver goes as far as my actual driver. So I just actually switched to my mini driver since last week, just like I couldn't get my driver to actually work. And then I think I might do that again this week, but she went those through the streets. And I'm telling you, I play, I think Friday,

when they moved this up, because we had to finish early. It was like, I mean like three of us, like Ryan, me and money, we both hit through there. Everybody's ball went straight down. It wasn't even, because I had my ball really high, even I have a like a low degree head. It just doesn't work. And because like the treats were so tall,

and it's so far, everybody's ball are slowly like coming descending down where the trees were so tall and it's so far. Everybody's ball are slowly coming descending down where the trees are. I know there's not a lot of leaves on the trees and just barks and branches, but yeah, it's like to us was amazing. I was like, wow, let me, you know, okay, she should win. But we had a bad club.

It wasn't supposed to be a fire iron. It was supposed to be a four. And we just messed up. When you look back, I promise is the last chevron question. When you look back on that week, what's your overriding emotion? Is it mainly positive, or is it like what could have been? It's positive.

I think it's still positive. Just because I wasn't really in the position of my golf, like if you just look at statistically where I was, like, to even be in the final group. And so I put really steady golf, and I got to myself into both position. Honestly, the playoff shouldn't have even really happened. I was putting so good. And then just like small things here and there, small things here and there that just like you know resulted in

me having to make a brilliant last soul to force myself into a playoff. And then having a misclub on the playoff hole, it wasn't meant to be on that tournament. Then we'll just have to find another tournament. So that's my attitude towards it. And I think it's still the same, even though it's like, everyone's like heart-wrenching, because I haven't won a tournament yet this year, but it is what it is. It's coming. Yeah. I truly believe that.

We saw you, last time I saw you in person was at the US Open Pebble Beach. And you said something that I really loved and I hope you don't mind me sharing it. It was Sunday night, we were having dinner, you came in. And you were talking about how you love difficult golf courses. And I love hearing that. And I was just hoping you could expand on why that is. And also would have been, you know, year to year, what are some of your favorite stops?

And how much you enjoyed playing both Pebble Beach and Walton Heath for the British Open. So the reason why I like difficult golf courses, it makes you think it's like you're playing golf more than just being talent, like working hard, it makes you think. It's like you're playing golf more than just being talent, like working hard, like as a professional. It's like, if I can make it into example, it's like at your golf club with your Sunday golfer,

with like, let's just say a five-hatnikapper. When you play a difficult golf course, it's like almost everyone can have a game going because it's not easy for a professional golfer nor is it easy for a five-handercapper. But you have to maneuver your way around. But if you go to a golf course, it's like a shootout. You're going to be better because you're going to be hitting it close to you. You're going to make the puss.

Whereas like your five-handercapper is just kind of of you know, hanging out there in my opinion. I always think to me it's like, and I'm a eight handicapper so take this for what it's worth. But I always think that the best golf courses are the ones where it fully engages your mind and your creativity. Usually that has to do with how the ball is going to move on the ground

or offering a lot of different ways to play a shot, whether it's high in the air, low on the ground. I think that's what Lynx Golf, obviously, is that's why a ton of people love Lynx Golf just because there's so many different ways to play these shots. And for me, it gets me out of my head in that it's like, you know, when you go to, I don't know, I lived in Florida and when there's a lot of water and it just kind of feels like you're standing on the tee and you got to hit it to this target, this yardage and then from there, you got to hit it,

this yardage onto the green. It's almost like just playing target golf. And. Yeah, like shootouts are usually just target golf. Yeah, and it's like you guys are good enough where it's like, hey, hit a 160 yard shot. Like you guys can do that. I'm not that good, but when you introduce variables where, well, what's the ball gonna do once it lands?

Can I, you know, can I roll it up? Can I play a low running shot? That's when it gets really good. And yeah, I mean, Canada was a great example. Did you enjoy Seanacy? The Canadian women's open? Or was it just hard? Maybe it wasn't. I did enjoy it. I didn't enjoy it. I wasn't in the greatest head space because I was still lingering from the British because I was so disappointed. But I think overall was a good golf course.

You can hit a lot of shots, shot shaping, fading it, hooking it. It is more fun of a relatively over golf course. And I do agree, when you play on difficult golf courses, you're not just hitting one shot. Like, ball to straw. You can like, oh, ball to straw is pretty straightforward. That's a function.

The wall and heath, you probably could hit a ton of different shots. Pebble probably demanded a lot of different shapes and check these. See, the thing with Pebble, I mean, this is gonna be so controversial. this is gonna be so controversial. This is gonna be so controversial. The thing with Pebble, to me, was like,

a bit of a disappointment. I played in the Taylor-Made invitation at the end of the year, last year, because I didn't make it to the CME. So I got to experience what the setup was like. They grew out the rough, and the grains were extremely fast. I got to, I guess, open. the grains were extremely fast. I got to our guest open. The grains were really slow. And then the grass was really spotty.

It was interesting. I just didn't know what to make of it. I don't understand why they... I mean, this is what I heard. I heard this. Don't quote me on this, what I heard. I heard this, don't quote me on this, but I heard this. Someone says, they don't know how to set it up for women's

because they've never had a woman's event. So that's why they set it up. Which is true. They've never had a woman's. They've got true. So that's why they didn't set it up. They didn't know how to set it up. And so they just set it up like the way they did.

And then I was just thinking, why can't you just set it up like a normal golf course? Like how you would play it? Let's just say a tailor made, the detainment invitation. Like what's the difference? Like even if we shoot like over part of it, like give us the experience, don't rob us of the experience

just because you don't know how we play. It's like, we'll make it work. Girls, like, the one thing about our game is like, we'll make it work. We might not have the length, we might not have the bus ball striking. But we, I think our putting one of the best, and we'll make it work. We'll just like get it together. And so, like, I don't know. I just feel like we were robbed of an experience because some person didn't think

they did know how to set up a woman's tournament. And that's what I heard. And I was really disappointed with that. Let me offer a counter theory, something I've heard that also makes sense to me. And I'm curious what you would think is something like the US Open, one of the, if not the biggest tournament of the year in women's golf, it's gonna get a lot of,

you know, maybe first-time viewers, casual viewers. The theory went, if we set up a golf course, that is very difficult, where, you know, over par wins, we don't want people seeing the women play for the first time to think, ah, they're not that good. And I don't know how you balance those things, because I think it's a US open. Even PAR should be sacred.

I love a tournament where two over PAR might win. I don't know what you think of that kind of counter theory. So yeah, everyone always brings that up because they want to showcase women how we're really not that bad. But. Which almost seems a little insulting. Let me just say that.

I mean, we're kind of dancing around the issue here. I mean, truth hurts. Yes. But it's just the truth. What's the problem with speaking about it? I mean, I completely hear that. But I would go back to what Patrick said about LACC. That was the best greens I've ever put on.

Everyone's putting was a lot better. When you give us good greens, we'll put better. If you give us like bumpy, slower greens, it's difficult to make putts. I think that's what happened at Wilshire this year. That's why like the winning score was nine under. When historically, it's always been double digits to high double digits.

This year was nine under, where the greens were horrendous. It was slow out of the mind, so I couldn't hit a putt hard enough. And I was like, Wilshire has these great putts that are like, once you get past the pin, to put, you have to put defensively. Like there is no way sometimes to like stop the ball if you go directly at the hole you

have to go you know two feet to the right or two feet to the left you know to stop the ball just behind the hole and then to make two putts. So what shows a great golf course like that because, you know, it's very rewarding, you have to think about it, how to play it. But at the same time, you can shoot really low scores. But this year, I mean, my gosh, the grains were so slow. I got to know, like, I was shocked why the screens are so slow. And then you look at the score like nine under. And we always put low there. So when you give us bad greens, I think you put that. And projects said it perfectly, like if you give us good greens, we're going to put it

long. Yeah. Do you think week to week they could set up your courses a lot more difficult? What do you make of in general the week to week setups on the LPGA? Other than the majors? Other than the majors. I don't think you can make it that much harder. I think everyone's playing better. Last week was 26 under. I think that's the second lowest ever 72 whole square. Sayon has the first, which is 31 under.

I think she's just every single round under 65. It's pretty wild. If you make the grains really wet, then the ball stops exactly where it is at, then scoring average is gonna be lower. But other than that, we golf courses, it's just gonna be pretty low. If you make the grains nice, if you make the greens like at a eight or a nine, I think

this course is gonna be a little high. What are your favorite stops non major? What are your favorite stops each year for the golf course? I should really like this golf course. Yeah, so last year we got rained out. I didn't even get to see the back line. And then I went out and played fine because it's very straightforward.

It's challenging golf course, but at the same time, it's all right in front of you. And there's not much like Mickey Mouse stuff anywhere. It's a good golf course. I always liked Lake Mercedes, so I hope we can go back after their entire renovation. It looks so good. There's just the pictures I've seen. It looks a good golf course. I always liked Lake Mercedes, so I hope we can go back after their entire renovation. It looks so good. They're just the pictures I've seen.

It looks so good. Wow, that's exciting. I mean, of course, it's off before it was not bad. So I decided to see the whole entire thing. You know, I never really appreciated Wilshire, because I don't really think it fits my game. I think I hit one driver throughout the entire golf course to set up. But I think it fits my game. I think I hit one driver throughout the entire golf course to set up.

But I think it's a good golf course, the one that we play at. And it's just really good. And I think I'm going to say Pelican, not because it's a good, greatest design. But I think they try really hard for us and hang that call for something. But they always make the golf course, like set up like condition-wise really well and they try really hard for us.

I got one more. How about Upper Montclair for the founders? Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That's like one of my favorites to watch. I think it's a very proper course. It is really good course. I hope the tournament can kind of stick there. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do very proper course. It is really good course. I hope the tournament can kind of stick there. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do like that course. I can't believe I forgot about it. All right. Last thing I want to ask you about is Soulheim. You mentioned earlier how much of a motivating factor. I mean, it sounded like that was the motivating factor for you. Back in 2021, obviously, we're left off of that team.

Let's start here. Where were you and how did you find out that you had made this year's team? Well, Stacey came and spoke to me at British. My attitude to it this year, I have to admit, only close people in my life know about this, but I mean, I can say it, it changed where it's really important, but it wasn't like, you know, life or death for me, where it was like that before. I was, you know, put so much importance on being able to wear red, white, and blue and represent our country, that I really got so sick afterwards.

It was like, I couldn't even get out of bed. And then the experience afterwards and what I heard afterwards was like, I think it was just too much for me to handle and Like my reality collapsed a little bit This year my mindset is more peaceful going in it's like if I make it I make it if not I have other goals I need to do and then Stacy came up and spoke to me about the British saying I was close and I didn't really want to think about it because

to me about the British saying I was close. And I didn't really want to think about it because I wanted to go out and win the British. So she was like, you're in right now, but you got to play. I was like, okay, that's good to know, because I didn't really know how to look at the points. To me, it was like too complicated. Look at the Rolex and then I don't know how to tune this

right now. So yeah, and then after my round at the Canada, she pulled me into the room. She just speaks to me. She was like, you're in, but we don't know how you're going to be in now. I was like, oh, OK. I thought I was in. She goes, what? Andrea finishes 13th or better.

She gets in on points. And she finishes 13. Right. And I was like, OK. But she goes, don't worry. Right. I was like, oh, OK. But she goes, don't worry. You're going to be in. I'm going to choose you.

I was like, oh, that's awesome. So it definitely feels really good. And then I kind of just have the mentality to like prep for two weeks from now. Do you know much about Finka Corteson? For anybody listening, that's the golf course where the Sohame couple will be in Spain. No, not really.

I've played the Yoramco tournament across the street. So it's pretty similar. That's why everyone keeps telling me. But it's really hilly. I heard. I've heard that too. I know the area is really windy. But Stacy told me when she wouldn't play,

it was like no wind. It's like what I played, I couldn't stand dumb. Yeah, I've heard it's a bit of a tough walk, gorgeous views. I think it'll be really pretty. Probably, I don't know how they'll set it up for spectators, but what I've heard maybe three, four or five holes that might be almost inaccessible just because of the layout and Well, like how hilly and like rocky it is. I guess at some points. I've never seen it from my side Did you see on Twitter where they took a video of the first-tea stance half of the stands was like like

Staked on a mountain. It's just a drop off Not sure I'll be up in those states. I think I'll be on the left side where it's like better. Yeah. This will be your third appearance now on the Soulheim Cup team at 24 years old. I mean, dare we call you a veteran? It was six rookies. I think you have to be. Yeah, I guess the title of being a veteran is there.

It's funny because everyone's always like, oh, what do you have to say for the rickies? Like, what advice do you have? It's like, you know, what is there to say to them? They're very experienced already. You have to experience it. That's the only thing. There's nothing you can describe in words,

how it's gonna be, other than having them experience it. And truthfully, like, if anyone speaks, it has to be like, see, just play like six of them. Yeah, I don't know. I always think those questions are really silly. Like, what do you got to say to them? Like, you know, like, it's almost like, you know, it's kind of speaking down to you,

like, yes, seniors speaking down to our freshmen, it's like, well, just go out there and do your thing. There's nothing to say to you about. If you're not calm, just stay calm. Just do your job. Play golf. Has Stacy asked you or will she ask you when you look towards like potential for some or for ball

partner, is that something that she solicits? Your input on players inputs and who might you think would be a good match for you potentially. So I don't know if I could say this, but we're not doing pods this year. So you know, historically, we've all done the pod with I think Paul Azinger did it. Yeah, the infamous pods after the Azinger, which I think have, you know, they work well when well executed, but. I think they work well in certain groups, not every single time. Yeah. So Stacy's taking that out, which I think is really good, because truthfully, we're out there as a team of 12.

If you break it up, we're not playing as fours. You don't even get to see half of your teammates. So what's the point of that? Then we should just play in fours, right? We're playing a group of 12. We needed like, you know, play together as a team, bond together as a team. Do everything as a team. I think that will be very helpful.

She took our input, who we want to play with, like on a one-of-a-scale. Like one-of-five-scale. So she is really listening to us. And I think really feels like teamwork. We're all like a big family now. Is that a being separated? Yeah, is that, I mean, I don't know if you're comfortable. Sure, you don't have to tell me who like, on the low end of your school, is there anybody

personality or game wise where you guys mesh that you think you could pair well with? I think Lexi. I mean obviously I want to play with Ali too because we did really well at when Eagles. I think we tied a record seven or five. But I think Lexi's really high up there too because you know, I don't know the theory in my head where it's like you have a long aggressive hitter versus a short I don't know, the theory in my head where it's like, you have a long, aggressive hitter versus a short conservative. This isn't really match in my head, because that's just say I'm a long, aggressive. I hit it into the woods.

I'm pretty sure the person who's hitting it like 240 doesn't understand what it's like to hit it in a tree. And I'm like, what is this other than theory? Because they only hit it in the hair, okay? Because I really realized that when I was playing with Lizette, I think I never played alternate shots. I played for a ball. But then, you know, when you watch her play, she's always in the fairway, always on the

green, she plays it everywhere. And then like, I'm in the trees there, and I make the same square as her. But I'm in the trees, like deep in the trees. And then like, that's just like different game, but like Lexi, and that's saying she's always in the trees. But you know, when you hit it long, you do get into those scenarios where it's a little bit tougher, and not just on short grass, tight grass in the fairway.

And I think when you play alternate shot, that's something you want. Maybe not in for a ball, but in alternate shot, I think that is something that you want. Similar game, instead of opposite game. That's such a good point. I don't think I've ever quite thought of it in those terms though, but yes, for all turn it shot. You want to play as one, like a one person that's playing.

You want to play from spots you're kind of used to playing from. Yeah. Even the bad spots. Yeah, because I was playing with Brittany Altamari at Dow a few years ago. I put it in the trees. We were playing all the same at shot. I was like looking, I didn't say anything,

but I was like, oh, I can go through this hole right there, right there. It's gonna work. And then she just punched out to the right. It's just, it's just like different. And then you kind of feel sorry because it's like, she's never been in trees before. And you're like, oh, just do whatever you want, make her work, right?

So that's where I really started to feel like, you know, I think you wanna play with someone that's the same game as yours and not different because I think that's the ultimate thing for an alternate shot you to play as one. Last question. How do you, how have you like Stacy? What do you, talked to me about kind of her leadership style?

Or are you looking forward to her leading the squad in Spain? I've only, like, so Julie is the only captain I've ever played under. And then obviously there was Pat. I didn't get to play under her, but it got to experience how she like bonds the team. CC took a really different approach. Our last meeting as a team was at upper montclar. So that was a while ago. And she said, this is going to be the last meeting. You guys go out there and just play. I don't need to be interfering. You guys are all competitors and you guys know what you're doing. I don't need to be interfering. You guys are all competitors and you guys know what you're doing. I don't need to keep doing all these team meetings and stuff. So she really lets us do our thing and just, it's free birds.

And then she goes the next time I'll speak to you, it's pretty much when we pick our team. And that's exactly what happened. I think she spoke to me at a British, not because like, yeah, that's when she needs to speak to people I think she spoke to me because to encourage me because I was like, you know, just like so nonshell on about everything She was like, I you're close. I was like, okay, that's really cool, but Yeah, I think CC as a player who's also complete competing and playing week to week really understands it more and her approach will be fresher a little bit unorthodox but just different. Yeah, I lied. I heard you relate a funny anecdote. How how pissed are you at Megan Kang for going out and winning and now you get introduced as the lone

soul high-and-club member without a win? Did you kind of talk about how that came about? No, I mean, she deserves a win. And it was really funny is like next morning when we did our press for as the slow-heim picks, C.C. goes statistically, Megan is the best fit for Canada's golf course to win. And I was like, wow, and she won. So good for her.

But yeah, I was a little shocked on golf channel. I think it was like, wow, and she won. So good for her. But, um, yeah, I was a little shocked on golf channel. I think it was like, I couldn't really see anything, can only hear in my earpiece. And then a guy, I think what the dire shack said goes, oh, yeah, this is Angel Yen. She's the only person that hasn't won on the job. I was like, oh, my gosh. To me, I think, I think it was really cool because that means I played so consistent that From April to now that I didn't need a win to get myself in contention Of making this all I'm obviously I got picked at the end of the day, but I Was right there

That just shows to me myself how well I was playing Now I hope I win maybe this week so I don't get introduced like that in some time I was gonna. Now I hope I win. Maybe this week, so I don't get to introduce like that in so high. I was going to say you still got time. Yeah, I got one more tournament. I got one more go before I get introduced like that in

so high. So hopefully I do something big. I was going to say, kick some ass this week. You like the course. We'll I look forward to watching you and we'll definitely we'll see you over in Spain and can't

wait to watch the so high. Thank you. watching you, and we'll definitely, we'll see you over in Spain and can't wait to watch this little hung cup. Thank you. Thank you, Angel. Give it a big blow up. Be the right club today. Yes. Be the right club.

That is better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most. Better than most.