For some athletes, knowing their position on the leaderboard is a motivator. For others, it’s a source of anxiety. If you consider yourself a “leaderboard looker,” you’ll relate to Angel Yin’s story—because she’s one, too. Currently competing at the Honda LPGA Thailand, Angel Yin has been candidly honest about her struggles with leaderboard pressure.
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Chasing down tournament leader Akie Iwai, she admitted that she not only felt the weight of trying to catch up—but also had a bit of a brain freeze when it came to recalling her competitor’s name. “I started the round knowing that I needed to chase the twin. Sorry, I don’t know her name,” Yin admitted. When told it was Akie, she laughed, “Akie, okay. I know her name, but I think I’m going to butcher it.” This slip-up may seem minor, but it reflects how golfers sometimes focus more on numbers than on their actual opponents.
Yin didn’t just keep track of her score—she obsessed over it. “I just wanted to try to catch the leader and also score on my own. And, yeah, I was looking at the leaderboard,” she confessed. “I’m a leaderboard looker. I’m terrible. I’m going to be looking.”
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And look she did. Starting the day five strokes behind Akie Iwai, Yin turned up the heat with a scorching 9-under 64, including four birdies on the front nine and five more on the back. She closed the day at T2 on the leaderboard, sitting just behind Akie.
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Impressive, right? But despite the great performance, Yin’s habit of constantly checking the scoreboard seems to be a double-edged sword. It keeps her motivated, but it also brings pressure, which she admits is hard to shake off.
A pattern of pressure, but also success
Yin’s fixation on the leaderboard isn’t new. It’s part of her competitive DNA. It sure is stressful, but it hasn’t stopped her from performing well on the Tour. Take her breakthrough win at the 2023 Buick LPGA Shanghai, for example. She went head-to-head against Lilia Vu in a playoff and held her nerve to secure her first LPGA Tour victory—after 159 starts. That is determination!
And though she didn’t notch a win last season, Yin wasn’t without good performances. She finished in the Top 10 seven times, showing consistency even while wrestling with the constant pressure of tracking her position. Then, there was the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship in Florida. With a record-breaking $4 million prize on the line, Yin led heading into the final round. The financial implications were huge and she knew it. “Even bigger financial freedom,” she called it, a phrase that highlighted just how much she had on her mind beyond just golf.
Yin embraces looking at the leaderboard even if she knows it’s not always the best thing for her. She laughs at herself for constantly checking, but that doesn’t stop her from doing it. For now, though, she might want to give herself a break. Take a breath. And maybe—just maybe—look at the scoreboard a little less.
Written by
Edited by
Riya Singhal