Tag: Angel Yin

Jeeno Thitikul wins 2024 CME Group Tour Championship, pockets top prize of $4 million

Moments after Thitikul finished polishing her newest trophy, she asked, “Is anybody hungry?”

NAPLES, Fla. – Moments after Jeeno Thitikul finished polishing her newest trophy, she turned to assembled media and asked, “Is anybody hungry?”

The woman who’d just clinched the largest check in women’s golf history flashed that million-dollar smile. It wasn’t all that long ago that Thitikul took her job too seriously and put too much pressure on herself. The smile was gone.

At 21 years old, however, she’s figured out that golf isn’t life or death, and it’s paying off in a big way.

On Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship, Thitikul poured in a 25-foot putt for eagle on the 17th hole and knocked a 6-iron to 5 feet on the last to clip Angel Yin by one stroke and claim the $4 million prize. The gutsy performance came after she won $1 million earlier this week for claiming the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.

That’s $5 million in one week.

And yet, the thought that popped into Thitikul’s mind as she stepped onto the 18th tee at Tiburon Golf Club Sunday was that it’s not about the money.

“That word like pop up in my mind on 18 tee box, that we not here for prize money,” said Thitikul. “We’re here for like grow(ing) the game of golf.”

Thitikul played Sunday’s round alongside her best friend on tour, Ruoning Yin and Angel Yin (not related). Both Thitikul and Yin began the 2024 season late due to injury, with Thitikul suffering from a painful left thumb and Yin a broken ankle.

“I think the best thing in my life that happened this year, it’s [being] injured,” said Thitikul. “And also the worst thing. But it taught me a lot this year.”

CME Group Tour Championship: Leaderboard | Photos

Thitikul’s eagle-birdie finish gave her a 7-under 65 on Sunday for a 22-under total. Angel Yin closed with a 66 to finish one back, good for a $1 million payday.

“Hopefully I don’t break any body parts starting the offseason,” Yin joked after the round, “and maybe we’ll get some positive for next season.”

Thitikul, now a four-time winner on the LPGA, laughs each time she tells reporters not to tell her parents that she’s spending all the money. The Thai sensation started Black Friday shopping after she earned the $1 million bonus and had plans to visit Disney World with friends, including Ruoning Yin, after she left Naples. Thitikul and Yin teamed up to win the Dow Championship earlier this year.

Not surprisingly, Thitikul set a new single-season earnings record with $6,059,309, topping the record held by Lorena Ochoa in 2007 of $4,364,994. A total of 34 players crossed the $1 million mark in earnings this season.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda wrapped up her sensational season with a share of fifth, closing with a bogey-free 66. She became the first American to win seven LPGA titles in one season since Beth Daniel in 1990. In any other year, her $4,391,930 would’ve topped the money list.

“Never in a million years would I have thought last year, 365 days ago, I would be here with seven wins in one season and another major championship,” said Korda.

“But proud of the way I played this year. Proud of the way I bounced back after the middle of the year to win in Tampa. And, yeah, just motivated and eager to get next year going again.”

CME Group Tour Championship 2024
Jeeno Thitikul poses with the trophy after winning the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Lydia Ko didn’t even qualify for the CME last year and came in this year as one of the hottest players on tour. The most recent member of LPGA Hall of Fame closed out her fairy-tale season with a 9-under 63, moving up to solo third at 17 under. Ko earned $550,000 for her efforts.

“It was kind of the best way I could hope to end my official season,” said Ko, who like many players in the field this week will be back at Tiburon next month for the Grant Thornton Invitational, where she’ll defend with partner Jason Day. Thitikul will be paired with three-time PGA Tour winner Tom Kim.

“Especially with this tournament being a very special place for me, I really wanted to finish on a high. To be able to do that, it’s definitely a great way it wrap it up.”

Three players bid farewell to full-time competition on Sunday: Lexi Thompson, Ally Ewing and Marina Alex. While Thompson and Ewing made their announcements earlier in the season, only Alex’s close circle friends and family knew this would be final season.

Alex, a two-time winner on tour, closed with a 66 to finish tied for 12th while Ewing tied for 16th. A total of 12 players have decided to step away from full-time competition after this season.

After further review, LPGA’s Angel Yin cleared from any rules infraction, leads CME by two

Yin has now pulled her second shot in the water on the fourth hole two days in a row.

NAPLES, Fla. — After second-round leader Angel Yin signed her scorecard at the CME Group Tour Championship, she and her caddie rode off with LPGA rules official Sue Witters to review footage from the fourth hole.

The question centered around a drop Yin took on the par 4 after hitting her second shot in the water. There was concern that she’d taken the drop closer than allowed. Yin would go on to get up-and-down for bogey, making a six-foot putt.

“They wanted to ask me about the process of the drop, and if I used all my resources to be able to come to a determination of where I crossed and how I took my drop,” said Yin.

“So we talked it through. We even brought Narin (An) and (caddie) Justin (Dunbar) in, everybody from the group.”

After completing the review, LPGA officials determined that no further action was required and Yin maintained her two-stroke lead.

CME Group Tour Championship: Leaderboard | Photos

“I think everybody is trying to hold up integrity and the rules of golf because it would be bad if we cheat, so we don’t want that,” said Yin.

“And anyway, we talked it through. It was all good.”

Yin’s second-round 69 puts her at 10 under for the tournament and two shots ahead of Hye-Jin Choi (68) and An (72). World No. 1 Nelly Korda shot 66 and trails by four along with 2023 CME champion Amy Yang, Jeeno Thitikul, Ruoning Yin and Ayaka Furue.

The winner of the CME will claim a record-breaking $4 million paycheck. Yin, 26, won for the first time on the LPGA last season and has earned $5.2 million over the course of her LPGA career.

Yin has now pulled her second shot in the water on the fourth hole two days in a row and had hoped to hit the range after the round on Friday but ran out of daylight.

CME Group Tour Championship’s $4 million winner’s prize both historic, life-changing on LPGA

Imagine what that kind of many can do.

NAPLES, Fla. — Before Angel Yin took any questions from the press on Thursday at the CME Group Tour Championship, she had her manager run to get her shades. Yin has an endorsement with a South Korean sunglasses company and wanted to make sure they were in the camera shot.

For a while, sponsorships were hard to come by for the always-entertaining Yin. She’d gone four years without a logo, and while she felt desperate about it at times, made the best of the situation. When Yin won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge at the end of 2023, she took home a $1 million bonus check.

This week, she could leave Naples with a record $4 million winner’s prize.

“It got my freedom,” said Yin of how last year’s seven-figure check changed her life. “Allowed me to hire people that I want, add more members to my team this year.”

Yin opened with a 7-under 65 at Tiburon Golf Club to trail leader Narin An by one stroke. LPGA Hall of Fame member Lydia Ko holds a share of fifth after an opening 67. No. 1 Nelly Korda, who won her seventh title last week, opened with an even-par 72.

Bailey Tardy remembers earning $30,000 for winning on the Epson Tour three years ago and thinking, “Wow, I’m set.”

“Then you kind of see how quickly the money depletes when you’re traveling on the road so much,” she said.

2024 LPGA Rolex Players Awards
Bailey Tardy of the United States is presented the Rolex First Time Winner’s Award during the 2024 LPGA Rolex Players Awards at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2024 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Fast forward to January 2024 when Tardy bought a house.

“I’d never had rent more than $1,000,” she said. “My mortgage is like $2,000 and I was really stressed about – not how I was going to pay for it – but managing my money on the road and then also being able to pay for my mortgage.”

Winning in March of this year took care of that when she earned $330,000 at the Blue Bay LPGA. She set aside her mortgage and utilities for the year and felt the financial stress lift away.

More money than three of the men’s majors

Imagine then, what $4 million could do. The runner-up this week earns $1 million and last place is guaranteed $55,000 of the $11 million purse.

“This $4 million prize is bigger than three out of the four men’s majors,” said LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, “and it’s what our players deserve. We’re super proud that we’re here.”

Lexi Thompson’s first big check came early. She was only 16 when she won the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic and the $195,000 winner’s prize. Thompson bought a black Camaro SS with custom body kit, billet grille and chrome rims.

“I actually still have it,” said Thompson. “My mom drives it.”

Andrea Lee’s biggest career check came earlier this year at the U.S. Women’s Open when she finished in a share of third and earned $664,778.

Lee, who still lives at home with her parents, describes herself as a saver.

“I think my parents have instilled that in me,” said Lee, who’s putting away for retirement. I won’t be playing my entire life, maybe 10 more years or so.

“Money is not going to always come my way, gotta save up as much as I can.”

‘Exciting to me to give away that $4 million’

CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy has been at the forefront of LPGA growth for some time, pushing prize funds into unprecedented territory.

On Wednesday, the LPGA and CME announced an extension of the CME Group Tour Championship and the season-long Race to the CME Globe through 2027.

“It’s exciting to me to give away that $4 million,” said Duffy, “and I hope I‘m turning on the TV in a few years and someone is giving them $10 million.”

Angel Yin withdraws from LPGA’s Chevron Championship with ankle injury

Hopefully Yin gets healthy soon.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Angel Yin withdrew from the Chevron Championship after carding a first-round 78. Yin, who was in a wheelchair earlier this season after breaking her left ankle in Austria, was in too much pain to carry on at the Club at Carlton Woods.

Defending champion Lilia Vu didn’t even make it to the first tee on Thursday before she had to withdraw with pain back. The two players who squared off in a playoff here last year were too banged up to give it another go.

Yin made her first start of the season two weeks at the T-Mobile Match Play in Las Vegas where she took a share of fifth.

Yin told Golfweek on the eve of the championship that she felt a great deal of pain walking the fairways of Jack Nicklaus Signature Course and during the follow-through of her swing. Cross-country flights seemed to make things worse.

Chevron: Lauren Coughlin gave her husband a three-week trail as caddie, and she now leads LPGA’s Chevron

While Yin wouldn’t reveal the details of what she was doing during the time of the “avoidable accident,” she did say that she made a mistake by taking off her air cast every night for two weeks in Austria.

“That was wrong,” she said. “My doctor was not too happy.”

With the Olympics on the line, Yin was pleased to be back in action in time for the first major of the year. A little nervous, too.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

LPGA players who made big moves up and down the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in 2023

It was a year of big moves – in both directions – and the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings tells the tale.

Most of the 2023 LPGA season was entirely unpredictable. Few could’ve guessed that Lilia Vu would win two majors or that Lydia Ko would fail to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which she won the year before.

It was a year of big moves – in both directions – and the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings tells the tale.

How they work:

Jeff Sagarin’s rating system is based on a mathematical formula that uses a player’s won-lost-tied record against other players when they play on the same course on the same day, and the stroke differential between those players, then links all players to one another based on common opponents. The ratings give an indication of who is playing well over the past 52 weeks.

Also, players must have played in at least 10 events to be ranked. Editor’s note: We’ve included the Rolex rankings for the sake of comparison.

How a conservative approach yielded a $1 million Aon bonus for Angel Yin

Angel Yin took a more conservative approach to the season and won big.

NAPLES, Fla. — Angel Yin took a more conservative approach to the season and won big. In addition to claiming her first LPGA title in 159 starts, she won $1 million for clinching the season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge. Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul finished second.

When Aon introduced the challenge in 2019, the $1 million prize became the largest single monetary prize on the LPGA. The payout is the same on the PGA Tour, where Tyrrell Hatton won.

Yin, 25, said that in previous years she’d come to a reachable hole and automatically want to go for it. This year, however, the power player has learned to embrace her wedge play.

“When you overlook the small things, it doesn’t benefit you,” said Yin. “So what I started doing is I started looking at the small things and cherishing it more and accumulating that more, and I think that’s what really helped.

“(In) Cincinnati I made an eagle. That was huge, but it wasn’t really planned for. It was really lucky. If you really think about it, eagles are (made) with a lot of luck. Birdies are more calculated. If I can just put all my money on my birdies, I can get my return.”

At the Solheim Cup in Spain, the always entertaining Yin wore sunglasses to a Team USA press conference in a nod to Deion Sanders. The LPGA marketing team presented Yin with Sanders T-shirt after her Wednesday press conference in Naples.

For Yin, who has played the past four seasons without a personal sponsor, this money gives her the ability to help others who might find themselves in similar financial situations in other business endeavors.

“I’m very blessed with a lot of people in my life that have been a lot of support,” said Yin, “but let’s just say on the financial side or other support hasn’t been as great. I feel like if I have the ability to do that, I want to be able to reach out.

“Because money makes things go around, and as much as we don’t want to talk about it, it can bring a lot of things in life and create a lot more opportunities. … We’re here for a long time, and I want to find out what my passions are in life. I want to be able to help people that haven’t been helped out.”

Angel Yin of the United States speaks with the media after winning the 2023 AON Risk Reward Challenge at Tiburon Golf Club on November 14, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

After coming up short against Lilia Vu in a playoff at the Chevron earlier this season, Yin went head-to-head again against the current World No. 1 at the Buick LPGA Shanghai last month and came out on top.

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Angel Yin, sponsor-less the past four seasons, on pace to win $1 million Aon bonus

It’s quite the turnaround for a player who considered writing tournaments on the tour’s spring Asian swing.

Angel Yin currently leads the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, and if she holds on, will earn a $1 million bonus on top of $1,617,216 she’s made on tour this season. That’s without any money made at the no-cut, season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which boasts a $7 million purse and $2 million winner’s check.

It’s quite the turnaround for a player who, earlier this season, considered writing tournaments on the tour’s spring Asian swing to ask for a sponsor exemption to get an infusion of cash.

Yin ultimately decided against it, thinking it might be good to play a lighter schedule to be more refreshed for CME, but the money situation is striking for a Solheim Cup player who hasn’t had a personal sponsor in four years.

“It’s tough when you have a bad stretch of a few years,” said Yin. “Your bank gets pretty dry.”

Yin, 25, isn’t bitter about the lack of sponsors, however, saying that she’s had a change of heart about the situation in recent months.

“I don’t think I’m as desperate as I used to be,” said Yin. “I used to be really desperate. Now I’m not as desperate. I think throughout this journey of not being sponsored, I think it really helped me learn my own value as a person in life.”

The sponsor situation doesn’t surprise LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, who Yin said became like a second mom to her after she played on Inkster’s 2017 Solheim Cup team. While sponsor money might be increasing for those at the top of the game, Inkster still doesn’t see it filtering down ranks.

“I think a lot of these companies don’t value women’s golf to sell product,” said Inkster, “and I think they’re missing the boat.”

2023 Solheim Cup
Angel Yin takes a selfie of herself with The United States team with their captain Stacy Lewis and her husband and daughter behind during the official photo call prior to The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 19, 2023, in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Even Yin’s signature headwear, the G/Fore hat with HACI stretched out like a giant billboard on top of her head, came from the pro shop at her home course, Hacienda Golf Club. Yin said G4 started sending her hats because the club’s pro shop couldn’t carry enough. Members like it, she said, because they can easily spot her.

“Exactly, see, it’s in your face,” she said. “You can spot it a mile away. Cameras are not always that close to you, and when you have a small logo, the imperial ones, can’t really see.”

Yin, however, isn’t paid to wear the hats.

Last month in China, Yin’s hat couldn’t be missed as the power player with soft hands won the 2023 Buick LPGA Shanghai for her first LPGA victory in her 159th career start. Yin beat former World No. 1 Lilia Vu in a playoff. The pair squared off against each other earlier this year at the Chevron.

Unfortunately, Yin couldn’t keep the momentum going as she pulled out of Malaysia last week with back pain. She has decided to take off next week’s event, the Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, as well. The Aon winner will be decided after Pelican.

“The truth is everybody is doing math,” said Yin, who had her caddie help her understand how the system worked.

“But the last two months, everybody is just talking to me about Aon. Anyone and their moms are texting me about Aon. It’s hard not to know about and do the math on it because you would be kind of stupid not to. It’s $1 million. Doesn’t matter how much inflation is going on in this world, it’s a lot of money.”

Yin is 28 under par on the 30 holes played over the course of the season. Attahaya Thitikul ranks second to Yin and needs at least two eagles to pass her.

Inkster picked Yin for that 2017 Solheim Cup team and saw a player with a ton of potential who needed maturing in her course management.

“She’s super stubborn,” said Inkster. “It has taken me a while to kind of get to her.”

Angel Yin
Angel Yin and Juli Inkster of the United States play with the crowd on the first tee before her match against Karine Icher of Team Europe during the final day singles matches of the Solheim Cup at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club on August 20, 2017, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Inkster, who plays quite a bit of golf with Yin in Palm Springs, also encouraged the outgoing Yin to show more of that personality on the golf course, where she’s often stoic. Yin made a point to do that in Shanghai.

“I think you can show your emotions and also be super successful,” said Inkster. “You could tell if I was shooting 78 or 68.”

While Yin stands to win a boatload of cash this season, she said the most impactful piece of advice Inkster has given her over the years is “Don’t do it for the money.”

“It’s our job; we do it for the money,” Yin said with a laugh. “I mean, everyone is here doing it for the money.

“She always tells me to not look at it like that. If you look at it like that, you don’t really see more than that. Do it for the love of the golf, why I play, why you win, something beyond the money.

“I really take that to heart.”

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Angel Yin defeats No. 1 Lilia Vu in Shanghai playoff for first LPGA victory in 159 starts

Yin let her personality shine through in her first LPGA victory.

While in China for the Buick LPGA Masters, Angel Yin took in some tennis. During a semifinal match of the Shanghai Masters, Yin noticed how seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev “expressed himself very well on the court.”

“It wasn’t like he was just completely emotionless,” said Yin, who found herself flatlining on the golf course.

After making bogey on the sixth hole Sunday in Shanghai, Yin gave herself a pep talk walking up the next fairway.

“I was pretty emotional during Solheim,” she said, “and I did pretty good.”

The self-talk paid off as an engaged Yin took down World No. 1 Lilia Vu in a playoff for her first LPGA victory in 159 career starts at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. The two Solheim Cup teammates squared off earlier this season in a playoff at the Chevron Championship, where Vu came out on top. It’s Yin’s first professional victory since the 2017 Omega Dubai Ladies Classic on the Ladies European Tour. She went 2-1-0 in her third appearance for the U.S. Solheim Cup Team this past September.

“Today was just Angel’s day,” said Vu. “I’m happy for her.”

Yin closed with a 70 at Qizhong Garden Golf Club while Vu shot 68. The pair were knotted at 14 under 274 for the tournament, one shot ahead of five players.

The 25-year-old Yin made birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Vu, her Solheim Cup teammate, and a three-time winner this season. Yin becomes the 12th first-time winner on the LPGA this season, a new record for the tour. She earned $315,000 for her efforts.

Angel Yin of the United States and her caddie react on the 18th green during the final round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club on October 15, 2023 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images)

Throughout the round Yin, the overnight leader, kept reminding herself that it’s not easy to win on the LPGA. She also worked hard to let her personality shine through inside the ropes.

“It’s funny because we’ve been talking about this a lot for the past few years,” said Yin. “I’ve been speaking to (former Solheim captain) Juli Inkster about it. I don’t really feel much emotion 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. Growing up everyone taught me to be stone-faced, no emotions, poker face. I don’t think that fits me. What’s fitting me right now is what I’m doing to express myself.”

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How each American, European player fared at the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain

Three players went unbeaten over the three days but only one earned 4 points over the five sessions.

CASARES, Spain — The 2023 Solheim Cup couldn’t have been closer.

The 18th edition of the biennial bash between the United States and Europe was all square at 8-8 entering Sunday singles, and after the final 12 matches – five won by the both teams and two ties – the competition ended in a 14-14 tie, and the Europeans retained the Cup.

In the event’s 23-year history, the Americans have taken home the trophy on 10 occasions, with the Europeans earning the other eight. Team Europe hasn’t lost since 2017 in Iowa.

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda was the only player to score four points this week (4-0-0) and was one of four players who went unbeaten, joining Gemma Dryburgh (0-0-2), Megan Khang (3-0-1) and Cheyenne Knight (2-0-1). Two players went winless for each team, but only one failed to earn a point.

Here’s a breakdown of how each player fared this week by event at the 2023 Solheim Cup.

MORE: Sunday singles results | Best shots | Crazy fans

European records

Player Overall (W-L-T) Singles (W-L-T) Foursomes (W-L-T) Fourball (W-L-T)
Celine Boutier 0-3-0 0-1-0 0-2-0 0-0-0
Charley Hull 1-2-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 1-0-0
Linn Grant 3-2-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 2-0-0
Georgia Hall 1-2-1 0-0-1 0-2-0 1-0-0
Leona Maguire 3-2-0 1-0-0 0-2-0 2-0-0
Carlota Ciganda 4-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0
Anna Nordqvist 1-3-0 1-0-0 0-2-0 0-1-0
Maja Stark 2-1-1 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-1
Madelene Sagstrom 1-1-1 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-1
Gemma Dryburgh 0-0-2 0-0-1 0-0-0 0-0-1
Emily Pedersen 2-2-1 0-1-0 1-1-0 1-0-1
Caroline Hedwall 1-1-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

American records

Player Overall (W-L-T) Singles (W-L-T) Foursomes (W-L-T) Fourball (W-L-T)
Lilia Vu 1-3-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-2-0
Nelly Korda 2-2-0 0-1-0 2-0-0 0-1-0
Allisen Corpuz 2-1-1 0-1-0 2-0-0 0-0-1
Megan Khang 3-0-1 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-1
Lexi Thompson 3-1-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-1-0
Jennifer Kupcho 0-2-1 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-1
Ally Ewing 1-3-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-2-0
Rose Zhang 0-3-1 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-1
Danielle Kang 2-2-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-1-0
Angel Yin 2-1-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-1-0
Andrea Lee 1-2-1 0-0-1 1-1-0 0-1-0
Cheyenne Knight 2-0-1 0-0-1 1-0-0 1-0-0

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See which Solheim Cup captain’s picks have come up big in Spain and which have been on the bench

Cheyenne Knight (2-0-0) is undefeated so far in Spain.

Solheim Cup captains are always judged in part by their captain’s picks. The composition of the two 12-person teams are different in that Suzann Pettersen selects four players for Europe compared to Stacy Lewis’ three picks for Team USA.

So far, the European captain’s picks have combined for 4½ points to Team USA’s four points. While Pettersen has practically hidden two of her picks with Caroline Hedwall and Gemma Dryburgh only playing in one match apiece, she has leaned heavily on one pick: Emily Pedersen. The Dane is one of three European players to tee it up in all four matches. No American, however, will play every session.

Solheim Cup: 5 things we learned from Saturday

Here’s a look at how all seven captain’s picks have fared so far this week: