The first thing that comes across about Yan is that she truly takes pride in her time at Washington — even if it was over before Christmas break of her first quarter.
“I absolutely loved my time at UW. Being a Dawg, there’s nothing like it,’’ says Yan, who also goes by Jennifer. “It really resonated with me, and even now that I’m on Tour I still feel a need to represent my school by wearing my UW hat and having head covers with Washington on my bag. I get recognized as a Husky all the time, and the support is lovely. Also, I’m a huge dork and actually [did] like going to class and learning these amazing things. My favorite class was astronomy.’’
Now, the sky is her limit. She’s hoping to be a rising star in a galaxy of talented Tour players from around the world. Class dismissed. No more grades. Now she’s involved in a green business, measured primarily by how many dollars she collects during the season.
Yan said that earning her full status was a means to a bigger personal goal. Golf has been re-introduced into the Summer Olympics this year in Rio de Janeiro, and she wants to be part of the fun.
“That’s the primary reason that I chose to leave our UW team, my goal of competing in the 2016 Olympics (for China),’’ Yan says. “As an athlete, representing your country at the biggest world stage for sports is incomparable and that’s the only reason I turned professional when I did, to pursue that.’’
Her first season on the LPGA Tour was a mixed bag. Yan made her LPGA debut in January and proceeded to make her first four cuts — only, because of her conditional status, those four cuts were spread out over five months. Still, by the end of May, she had earned roughly $30,000 — not a bad haul for four weekends of golf, but when taxes, travel, equipment, coaching and other expenses are factored in, it’s not exactly a fortune. The next four months, though, illustrated the challenge of trying to make it in professional golf — from June through the end of August, Yan posted just three competitive rounds under par, failing to make a single cut. A tie for 20th at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Alabama brought in another $14,000, but that it would be it for Yan in 2015 — 14 events, and $51,590 in gross earnings.
Kim likewise struggled, grossing $63,522 in 15 events, including three top-25s. Remember, though, that on the LPGA Tour, purses are roughly a fifth of what they are on the PGA TOUR — Kim’s $63,522 placed 103rd on the LPGA money list, giving her position No. 141 on the LPGA’s priority list. Yan, by virtue of a top-20 finish in her return to Q School, holds position No. 138. With most tournament fields capped around 140 players, both should be able to play in the events of their choosing this coming season.
“Right now, the competitiveness in professional golf is cutthroat because of the Olympic Games,’’ Yan says. “The rookie class of 2015 being exceptionally strong is an example of this. I was going up against players in the top-40 of the world who had already won several tournaments on their home circuits — Japan’s Sakura Yokomine, Europe’s Charley Hull and Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim, Sei Young Kim and Ha Na Jang. Regardless, I believe that I am good enough to compete at this level and I established myself quickly, gaining full status on Tour this year. It was a big accomplishment and out of all the girls with conditional status from Q-School, at the end of the year, I finished second behind Charley Hull. Right now, I believe I am on the right track.’’