COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 13, 2023

Angel Yin

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Angel Yin after her third round at the Cognizant Founders Cup. It was just a couple weeks ago you were leading at the Chevron, and now you're in the chase a little bit for the final day. Do you prefer to be ahead or are you happy to be a few strokes behind and you get to be aggressive tomorrow?

ANGEL YIN: I guess being in the lead and a few stokes behind is always just in the hunt, so that's really nice. Either or is fine.

Q. Is this a course where you can be aggressive to pick up shots or do you have to be really smart?

ANGEL YIN: No, no. I don't think so at all. I think this course really tests you to be patient, play your shots. I had a four bogeys in the first day and then I think two or three yesterday and then one today, and they're not huge mistakes, but if you just are not 100% there, then it just -- it bites you in the back real quick. The birdies are not easy, either.

Q. What's so hard about the birdies, or what does it require for you to find those birdie opportunities out there?

ANGEL YIN: You got to hit it close, and then the greens are not very easy, so there are certain holes where it's very gettable and the rest of them you're just fighting to make par.

16, that's definitely a par hole. I had a putt earlier in the round and I was telling myself, don't be stupid, because we can three-putt this or go down the hill. I left it short, dead online, but you have to take it like that.

It's just really difficult.

On 18, even though the putt was really short, it just looked like a left-to-right, and then looked like a straight putt, but turned out to be both incorrect. It was a right-to-left putt.

So it's a really difficult golf courses, especially on the greens.

Q. How much do you talk to yourself during the round? What kind of things do you say to yourself?

ANGEL YIN: So I usually will tell -- like before, my old caddie, I would tell them where I'm going to aim off the tee. Now I just tell that to myself. Oh, next to the tree, hit this draw, this.

So instead of just talking to a caddie, because at the end of the day it's like talking to myself. I do a little bit of that, and then I talk to him as much as possible so I don't look crazy.

Q. So you're always happy, but how long has it been since you were this happy on the course, too?

ANGEL YIN: I think it's been a while. I think really this year I was more happy on the golf course. Even last year there were moments where like it's very volatile where I'm not really enjoying it on the golf course.

I'll play like nine holes and get really bored and step on the first tee and get really bored. You can't really get bored with your job. Then have to do something else, right?

It's nice to just be enjoying it, because I know the moments when you don't enjoy it it's just such a grind, because it's like even when you get a birdie it's not that exciting.

And birdies are really exciting.

Q. You mentioned fewer bogeys as the week has gone on. Do you feel like you adapted to the course or just the shots you've been hitting?

ANGEL YIN: Adapting to the golf course, and today I feel more well rested. I slept like 12 hours pretty much. Just been struggling focusing-wise and I kind of ran out of energy towards the back nine yesterday just because started out pretty early.

But also adapting strategy-wise, just to be more conservative and trying to be on the green. The rough here is pretty tough, a little bit unpredictable, so once you get to the rough you have to be extremely careful. Sometimes you have to take your bogeys.

Q. What do you expect this course to show you tomorrow and how do you kind of just relax yourself knowing you will be a few shots behind and try to pick up some ground?

ANGEL YIN: Just exactly what it has been showing me the last three days, and last year as well: You have to be patient. Nothing else you can do. Like last year, last day, as much as I wanted to go for it, there was nothing I could do because there was no opportunities.

Like after you hit like, what is it, like 14 and on, those are just like par holes. They're not really birdie holes. So even that par-5, the last par-5. It's like a par hole. Not really anything you can do. You have to be patient. Sometimes pars are huge here.