FORD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY WILD HORSE PASS

March 25, 2026

Yana Wilson

Whirlwind Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, very pleased to be joined here by Yana Wilson at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.

Just talk about your excitement for teeing it up this week, third start here on the LPGA Tour.

YANA WILSON: Yeah, really happy to be here. It's close to home; kind of feels like home. Weather is pretty hot this week so really excited about that.

Just excited to see all the fans that are going to come out to watch this week; hopefully play some good golf.

Q. Obviously as I said third start as an official member on the LPGA Tour. How has it been getting adjusted to life on the LPGA Tour?

YANA WILSON: Being a rookie has treated me good so far. Still getting used to it. I think my game needs to mature a little bit. I had a bit of a rocky start these last two events, but trying to make some quick changes to my game and my mental game, and hopefully kind of turn that around a little bit.

And, yeah, just trying to adjust the best that I can.

Q. Competed on the Epson Tour last year. How much did that maybe prepare you for life out here on the LPGA Tour?

YANA WILSON: It prepared me a ton. Yeah, I'm really grateful for the Epson Tour. Honestly, I don't think I could have done it without them because there is really nothing like preparing you for the LPGA Tour than either being on the LPGA Tour or being on the Epson Tour.

I don't think I was ready for the LPGA Tour last year, so happy to get my reps in last year; obviously played good there.

Q. Obviously very exciting news that came out this week, the power her drive; you're part of that class. How exciting is it to have a great partnership with Ford, sponsorship in helping you kind of navigate these waters as a rookie?

YANA WILSON: It's really special. Ford is obviously like America's biggest car brand, so just to have them as a title sponsor for the LPGA and also to partner with us six rookies, I think it's really great. Everything that they're doing for the game has been really solid.

I'm really fortunate to be alongside these other five girls. I think we're going to be kind of the next generation on the LPGA Tour, so it'll be fun to see us succeed throughout the year.

Q. Obvious Michelle Wie West is the mentor of the program.

YANA WILSON: Yeah.

Q. Have you gotten to speak with her yet? What are some words of wisdom she's given you?

YANA WILSON: Yeah, I was pretty close with Michelle before just from Mizuho and previous experiences, so just seeing her again is and being able to see her more is really special.

Yeah, yesterday we all got to ask her a question after our little meeting. I asked her kind of how life was being on tour as a rookie and she gave me some good advice saying don't let golf take over your whole life.

I kind of felt that in a way the last two events, so I'm really just trying to focus on that now after she gave me that advice.

Q. Shifting to a little bit of the course here, what's kind of the key to success on this course and maybe how does it suit your game?

YANA WILSON: Obviously like any other course, I think just hitting fairways and greens. Approach shots are going to be super important this week. The greens are a little bit tricky, some undulation in the front, and obviously with them being very firm out here, hitting your landing areas pretty precisely is going to be pretty important this week.

Obviously just lagging the putts close and making some good putts I think is going to be the key to success.

Q. How does the game feel after these last couple practice days?

YANA WILSON: Pretty solid so far. I mean, like I said, kind of feels like at home out here so I feel pretty comfortable. But, yeah, I really have no expectations going into tomorrow, so just trying to hit the ball the best I can.

Q. So with this mentorship program, are there some unknowns or some things that you've had to learn the hard way as you're learning to navigate being on the LPGA, things that surprised you or caught you off guard?

YANA WILSON: Well, my first event was in China, so that -- the travel kind of caught me off guard. I've never been to Asia before. I think it was nice to have that trip under my belt just to say that I've been to Asia and have played overseas.

Now I know what to expect. You, I would say the travel so far. Nothing else.

Q. Your talks with Michelle, how much of it is on-course stuff, strategy, or is most of it just navigating the off-the-course stuff?

YANA WILSON: I haven't really asked her too much about on course. I think she's really key on telling us for golf not to be our entire life and get so caught up just in the results; stay more focused in the process. Yeah.

Q. Looking at this week, obviously living in Vegas you know desert golf, you know what to do out here.

YANA WILSON: Yeah.

Q. Does it make you feel more comfortable when you sow up to a venue like this that you can really go out, go low, make some birdies, and maybe make a run up the leaderboard?

YANA WILSON: 100%. Yeah, like I said, it's very much like Vegas, and, yeah, I do feel really comfortable out here. I know some players probably don't like the heat but I love it. It could be 120 and I would be thriving.

Yeah, just happy to be back in kind of my warm weather again and just see how well I can play.

Q. Last week did you learn any lessons or anything you took from last week that you'll carry into this week?

YANA WILSON: Definitely. Last week the course was set up really well. I think my game needed to mature a little bit more. That's kind of what I took from last week. I feel like I went for a lot of pins that I shouldn't really go for; just played too aggressively.

So kind of just taking that with me for the rest of the season, just to play a little smarter, play more like the veterans out here, and just learn from play mistakes as fast as I can and adapt.

Q. You've got this really cool confidence about you. Are you asking some those maybe like how do I play more maturely or play aggressively questions of some of your older counterparts out here?

YANA WILSON: You mean am I asking like...

Q. Are you asking for advice from anybody in terms of how to start to do that? I know that's a shift when you go from high level amateur golf to Epson out to the LPGA.

YANA WILSON: I haven't really asked anybody. More so self-reflected. You know, my mom is not here but she's a big follower online and likes to see my stats and everything. She's always seeing ways that I can play better.

Also Nelly Korda was playing in the group behind me last week so I kind of got to watch a little bit of her game. Just kind of seeing her playing the holes made my realize like I should approach my strategy in a different way.

Q. How can you plan to do that this week at what was a really gettable venue for our athletes last year?

YANA WILSON: Well, I think I'm going to dummy down my yardage book. Just like put big circles of where I want to hit the ball. I'm pretty good at hitting my shots to the spots that I want hit it, but I like to get aggressive sometimes and that can cost me on the LPGA Tour.

So, yeah, I think I'll just do that.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time. Best of luck this week.

YANA WILSON: Thank you.