Angel Yin entered Hazeltine National Golf Club ranked No. 16 in the world, carrying the kind of major championship pedigree that pitched her as one of the top contenders. But she withdrew from the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship before her third round, and the tournament’s record-setting purse suddenly had one fewer contender chasing it.

“Angel Yin has withdrawn from the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship before her third round due to illness,” confirmed the championship’s X handle.

The 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is underway at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. It is the third of the LPGA Tour’s five major championships, and it arrives with a record $13 million purse. Yin completed her opening two rounds without issue.

Yin began the tournament with a 1-under 72 in the first round, a solid score at a major where mistakes are costly. Her second-round score was the same. She was overall 2 under for the tournament.

Yin has two LPGA Tour wins, including the 2017 Omega Dubai Ladies Classic on the Ladies European Tour and the 2025 Honda LPGA Thailand, where she set a record. She was runner-up at the 2023 Chevron Championship and tied for second at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open. In 2025, she tied for sixth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, showing this event fits her game. Yin has faced health issues in previous seasons as well.

Yin had not withdrawn from any event in the 2026 LPGA season before this. There was no pattern or warning leading up to her exit at Hazeltine. This withdrawal came suddenly.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Remains a Cornerstone Major

The Women’s PGA Championship has been a fixture on the LPGA calendar since 1955, long before record purses entered the conversation. It became the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2015, a rebrand that brought network television muscle and a rotation through some of the sport’s most demanding venues.

Hazeltine fits that mold exactly. This is the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, which opened in 1962 and has since hosted U.S. Opens, PGA Championships, and a Ryder Cup. The kind of pedigree that turns a single week in Minnesota into a defining stretch of any player’s season. That stature is exactly what makes Yin’s early exit a real loss, not just a footnote.

The championship continues without her. Ina Yoon leads the field after two rounds, a position that puts her one step closer to the first LPGA Tour win of her career.