Angel Yin looked solid at Shadow Creek despite playing only her second round in more than four months. The 2023 Buick LPGA Shanghai champion picked only one bogey to move up 15 spots. She would’ve preferred her card to be unblemished but was content to “close out on the saves”—Yin made five birdies and twelve pars. 

Nevertheless, Shadow Creek is not an easy layout and Yin is still recovering from a broken leg that put her out of the greens since late November. The question is: can the LPGA pro maintain consistency while hiking the Tom Fazio layout? Yin admitted she was slumped but she also had a panacea at hand.

Advil does the job for Angel Yin

Shadow Creek is known for its rolling hills and canyons throughout the course. How was the Tom Fazio-designed layout treating the recovering pro? “It was pretty tough,” Yin admits in one breath. The par 72, 7560-yard course, famous for ‘The Match’ between Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson,  sits like an oasis in the deserted landscape of Las Vegas. The total straight-line walking distance is around 9417 yards or 5.4 miles, per Provisualizer.

She has been taking Ibuprofen to ease the pain, and it’s working. Angel Yin said, “Took two Advil. They do work. It is not an ad, but they do work. I was really tired because (of) the turnaround time, I played afternoon and morning, I think first or second off, or third, but towards the front.” 

NSAIDs like Ibuprofens have become athlete’s last resort to reduce muscle soreness and recover faster. For Yin, it has become a necessity this week. She explained, “You don’t really go to sleep at 8:00 so there is only so much sleep you can get. I think I’m managing with Advil. Not an ad.”

The 25-year-old golfer from California shot 4-under 68 to tie for second-round lead. Per the new format, the top 65 and ties will advance to the third round. The top eight from there will move to Saturday for match play. Yin looked good enough to earn her spot, but the question is will her body permit two more days of grinding? 

Yin asserts that quitting is not in her mind

The accident, which happened the week after Thanksgiving, gave her a long window for recovery. Angel Yin, who spent most of that time with PS5, and weekends on shopping, played her first full round only some 10 days ago. Nonetheless, she is confident that she can continue because there is no tournament next week. 

Furthermore, T-Mobile Match Play is the last chance to qualify for the season’s first Major, the Chevron Championship. Yin takes this as her preparation for that. “The more I play the better for me,” Angel Yin told the media persons at Shadow Creek. The final field for the first major of the LPGA calendar will be determined on April 7.

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