Angel Yin and Tom Hoge join the media after Round 1 of the Grant Thornton Invitational (scramble), breaking down how they “ham-and-egged” their way to a strong start — with Hoge cashing the putts Angel missed and both feeding off each other all day.
They also reveal an actual alternate shot strategy for tomorrow: Angel will tee off on odds, Tom on evens, so Hoge’s elite iron game can be used as much as possible — especially on par 3s. Angel even jokes she’s been in offseason mode and is still “shaking off the icicles,” while Hoge has been keeping them sharp.
FULL INTERVIEW topics:
Team chemistry + why “teamwork is the essence”
Scramble mindset and getting hot early
How the pairing came together
Alternate shot plan (odds/evens)
Angel’s honest take on iron play + offseason rust
#GrantThorntonInvitational #AngelYin #TomHoge #LPGA #PGATOUR #GolfInterview #TeamGolf #AlternateShot
All right. Here now with Angel and Tom after their first round here at the Grand Thorn Invitational. Um, just kind of take us through the round today. What was uh what was the key to success out there? You want me to go first? Well, I think we just really uh bounced off each other. Like he hit it really close. We made some putts and then he made the putts that I missed. So, I I think we just ham and egged really well out there and teamwork and I think it’s just the essence of this tournament. And so, I think we did really well and that’s what showed up. Yeah. Uh what is maybe some of the um what were some maybe the game plans or or you know situations that you guys maybe talked through out there on the course that kind of came to fruition? Yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s a whole lot. I’d say both of us are pretty laid-back and just kind of rolled with what we what was coming next and um you know I think it was a pretty relaxed day out there for us. Um we made some some nice putts off the start that kind of got things going and then um you know you kind of know in this format with the scramble it’s a little bit weird for us. don’t really play it very often, but just hang in there today. There’s not a lot of separation in the field. I don’t feel like today, but um the next few days, hopefully we can be a little bit sharper and uh go make a little move. Yeah. Going into alternate shot tomorrow. Is there a a strategy that you guys have come up with so far for, you know, who’s hitting first, who’s, you know, what holes, anything like that? Uh yeah, we actually just talked about it. So, I’m going to play off odds and he’s going to play off even because his iron game is just so good not to use that on par threes and take advantage of that. And so, uh, I think it’s going to work out pretty good. Yeah. How did this partnership come to be? You know, did someone ask another, you know, how did how did it maybe come together? Yeah, I didn’t really know. Um, I was just hoping for a spot on the field and I think Angel needed a partner. So, uh, she got stuck with me. Um, so, um, no, but it’s I this is my third year playing. It’s a great week here. Um, and I always look forward to coming back. So, um, you know, just enjoying this nice weather. How do you guys complement each other’s game? Uh, I think I really like an iron play to be honest. And after CME, which is about I think roughly like 3 weeks ago, so I’m like a month into my off season, I’m trying to shake off the icicles that’s on me. And uh he’s he’s sharp. So I think uh with me being here and knowing the greens a little bit slightly better, though I do struggle still here, he puts me close enough where I can be confident enough to to make the putt and then obviously he picks up whatever I’m I didn’t make. And I think that really just speaks a lot. All right, perfect. Thank you guys. Best luck. Thank you.
