Yoon Yi-na (23, Solaire) could not fully enjoy golf last season. Expectations from those around her were high, and she felt immense pressure to deliver results matching those expectations. Her rookie season performance fell short of expectations, but the depth of learning she gained over the year exceeded them.
"I'm disappointed the results didn't match expectations, but I truly gained a lot of experience and grew from it," she said. Armed with that experience, a more resilient Yoon has begun a turnaround season.
Now in her second year on the LPGA Tour, Yoon spoke with Seoul Economic Daily at Sentosa GC in Singapore on February 27 after the second round of the HSBC Women's World Championship (total purse $3 million).
"It's too early to say what's dramatically different from last year, but I've adapted to the tour atmosphere and environment incomparably better than before," she said. "That's positively affecting my performance and naturally boosting my confidence."
Yoon, who set "enjoy" as her keyword for the season, had another enjoyable round on day two. She recorded one birdie and one bogey for an even-par round, sitting tied for 48th at 1-over through two days.
"This year I want to find a way to enjoy playing, so when things weren't going well today, I thought 'it happens,'" Yoon said. "My game content was better than yesterday, so I enjoyed it in my own way. I won't think of this as the end—I'll focus and find my rhythm over the remaining two days."
The 72-player field plays without a cut.
Yoon dominated the KLPGA Tour in 2024 with a triple crown—Player of the Year, money title, and lowest scoring average—before joining the LPGA Tour last year. In 26 events, her only top-10 finish was a tied 10th at the Toto Japan Classic. She finished 63rd in the CME Globe rankings.
That motivated her to prepare more intensely for year two. During the offseason, she trained in Thailand for a month.
"Playing last season, I felt physically depleted because of longer travel distances than in Korea. I thought improving my stamina would reduce inconsistency, so I focused on building endurance," she said. "To strengthen my heart, I ran 5 kilometers daily while maintaining a heart rate of 170, and did two hours of weight training every day."
She added that even early in the season, the effects of intense training are showing.
Having just crossed the starting line of the season, Yoon said she hasn't set specific goals. "But if I can compete in the CME Group Tour Championship, which is limited to the top 60 in points, and finish in the top 10 in the points rankings, I'll be satisfied," she said.
"As a rookie, Yoon Yi-na wanted too badly to play well and was too serious," she reflected. "This season I want to enjoy every day. Last week (tied 50th at Honda Thailand) I didn't enjoy myself, but this week I'm really going to enjoy playing. I really want to have an 'enjoy' season," she said with a smile.
Austin Kim (USA) maintained her solo lead at 9-under for the second consecutive day. Minjee Lee (Australia) fired the day's best round of 8-under to move into a tie for second at 8-under alongside Amy Yang. Kim Hyo-joo and Kim Sei-young both shot 4-under to reach tied 11th at 5-under, while Hwang Yu-min and Choi Hye-jin turned at tied 19th at 4-under.