Angel Yin calling Fields Ranch ‘quite boring’ is not a great sign for the future

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[PHOTO: Alex Slitz]

This week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is being held at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas, a Gil Hanse original design that golf fans are going to want to get very familiar with. Or, maybe not-so-familiar with based on Angel Yin’s summation.

Yin opened with a one-under 71, highlighted by a wild front-nine (her back nine) even-par 37 that featured one par, four birdies and four bogeys. The back nine, her front, was much more boring golf, Yin shooting a one-under 34 with one birdie and eight pars.

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“It’s going to be a battle of hydration and keeping focus,” Yin said. With 30-plus degree heat in the forecast for the rest of the weekend, loading up on fluids will be key. As for the focus part, well, that wasn’t another reference to the weather from Yin.

“This golf course is… quite boring, so.”

Ouch. You’re talking about Gil Hanse, here, Angel!

She was asked to elaborate. “It’s what I mean, it’s just kind of repetitive,” she said. “There’s challenges, but they are very subtle, and I think stepping up on to the tee, what did I start on, the back nine? It gets really repetitive on the tee. It’s not something that’s controversial.”

Well, it could certainly be construed that way, especially in this clip-farming world we live in. It was almost as if Yin knew that she, in fact, may have said something controversial immediately after saying it wouldn’t be.

“Did I say something that’s going to just drop the bomb?” she asked. “Maybe Gil’s going to give me a call? ‘How dare you trash my golf course!’ It’s just the way it is. Subtle challenges, I think that’s also a challenging part.”

There’s nothing wrong with saying how you feel. People eat this stuff up. However, what Yin probably didn’t realise is that the internet was always going to pounce on this take, because PGA Frisco is set to host a LOT of big-time golf championships in the coming years.

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After this week’s Women’s PGA, the men are slated to take on Fields Ranch East for the 2027 PGA Championship, and they’ll be returning for another go in 2034. There will also be a Senior PGA Championship in 2029, and the Women’s PGA will be back in 2031. And given the fact this is where the new PGA of America headquarters are located, it’s a very safe bet that a Ryder Cup will come to Fields Ranch at some point in the not-so-distant future.