Angel Yin can finally exhale after passing what was arguably her toughest remaining test at the T-Mobile Match Play event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over a grueling four-day stretch and a total of 90 holes, major contenders like Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko have already been eliminated. Yin, now the highest-seeded player left in the competition, has held her ground, though the unpredictable nature of the event has shown that anything is possible in Vegas—a sentiment Yin herself agrees with.
Following her impressive victory over second-seeded Atthaya “Jeeno” Thitikul, Yin shared her composed mindset throughout the match. She emphasized staying calm and approaching each hole one step at a time. That attitude played a crucial role in her triumph. “This golf course, anything can happen,” she said, reflecting on the back-and-forth nature of her match. “I’ve been 1-up in the beginning, then 1-down, all square, and back again. But at least I was 1-up, so I felt I had something going.”
Angel Yin with the chip in to go 1Up 💥 pic.twitter.com/t63yZlYpT0
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 5, 2025
The decisive moment came at the 16th hole when Yin chipped to within two feet of the pin, effectively ending the match with a commanding four-hole lead. That moment sealed the deal and marked the end of Thitikul’s campaign. Yin described the feeling as a turning point: “Until I chipped it to two feet, that’s when I was like, okay, the match is over.”
Yin also praised Thitikul’s talent, acknowledging the Thai golfer’s dominant 8&7 win over Nataliya Guseva in the previous round. “It feels good to beat her,” Yin admitted. “She’s a great player, and on a course like this, nothing is certain. It’s never really over until it’s over.”
Yin will now await the winner of the match between Celine Boutier and Madelene Sagstrom. Their match was paused with both players tied after 17 holes. Boutier has already had an exhausting day, playing 45 holes total—28 in a long Round of 16 battle against Ashleigh Buhai and 17 more in her ongoing match with Sagstrom.
Yin’s performance has been part of a trend at this year’s tournament: unexpected outcomes. Once round-robin play concluded, only four top-seeded players advanced from the 16 groups. These included Jeeno Thitikul, Angel Yin, Celine Boutier, and Lauren Coughlin.
Several fan favorites and high seeds, including Korda, Ko, and Ayaka Furue, were eliminated early. Korda’s exit came during group play, where she lost to Ariya Jutanugarn, who went on to advance. Ko, meanwhile, underperformed in her group and failed to qualify for the knockout stage. Surprisingly, Nataliya Guseva, seeded 50th, made it to the Round of 16, adding to the event’s unpredictability.
Now, with many of the top names out of the picture, Yin faces a field narrowed down to herself, Coughlin, Jutanugarn, and either Boutier or Sagstrom. If Yin can emerge victorious, she’ll become the first LPGA golfer to win two titles in the 2025 season.
Given her form and determination, the question now is: Could Angel Yin be the unexpected powerhouse set to dominate the LPGA this year?