MEIJER LPGA CLASSIC

June 18, 2026

Jing Yan

Blythefield Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Perfect. All right, here with Jing after her first round here at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Really a tale of two nines for you this week. Take us through the front and how crazy that was and the calmness of the back?

JING YAN: Yeah, well, starting the day was -- on the range I felt was really cold and windy, so just on the first hole like going out there you're not really sure what's going to happen. You could see some bigger numbers, especially if the wind picks up.

So not the most confident start, but then I was able to roll a couple putts in and just hit greens and fairways. I just tried to focus on that and made a nice long one on nine. That kind of really made to feel like a good front nine.

Then on the back nine just didn't quite get the ball to the hole and didn't give myself as many opportunities, but, yeah, I'm still pretty happy with the round.

Q. Was it a product of conditions or do you think the front is a little more scorable than the back?

JING YAN: I think they're pretty similar. I think you have shorter shots maybe into the front nine, but at the same time the greens can be a little bit more tilted, so even if you have a closer putt you might not necessarily make it.

On the back you have two par-5s that are really gettable, so, yeah.

Q. Yeah. How does this course suit your game?

JING YAN: I really like it. The greens are rolling really nice. The course is in awesome condition. Like we been coming back many years and it's like the best it's ever been.

Yeah, it's just nice when you see certain holes that fits your eye, yeah.

Q. What would you point to as the overall key to your success this week -- well, today?

JING YAN: I think really just staying patient in the wind and just focusing on where I want to hit the ball and where I want to leave myself instead of the score overall. Then it can get away from you.

Yeah, really zoning in on my targets.

Q. Is that something you tend to do? Is that something new you're working on?

JING YAN: I think this year I've been doing it better. In the past I've tried to do it but I get carried away with thinking about my scores and how low I want to go, which can be a double-edged sword sometimes.

Q. How would you assess the overall state of your game coming into this week?

JING YAN: Actually, I didn't have like -- I didn't feel the best over the last couple weeks just ball striking and putting-wise, so really -- it wasn't anything big. Just trying to give myself more confidence and see some better scores and some better -- not even scores, but just like better shots that you can be like, okay, it's not as bad as you think.

Q. What was the highlight of the day today?

JING YAN: I think I made like a 45-footer on nine, so, yeah, I was pretty happy with that.

Q. When you planned to play this tournament did you expect conditions to be like this? You said you've been here a couple times, so...

JING YAN: Yeah, sometimes I feel like we come here and I'm like oh, I forgot bring my jacket. No, I mean the course is always great. I love coming here and seeing all the fans and what Meijer has done in Grand Rapids. Yeah, I love coming back.

I know sometimes there can be a bit of wind, a bit of rain. Tell myself to just try and toughen up. But it's not ideal to play in rain, but just -- it's an outdoor sport, so do the best you can.

Q. For sure. With the rain a little bit, did you notice any type of extra bounce on the greens or anything like that, especially on I guess maybe the front nine when you first started?

JING YAN: Yeah, I think it was a little bit softer but not too much. Maybe just a couple yards less run-out. Usually we get a pretty good bounce on the first -- once we pitch it on the green, so I think, yeah, that can be challenging.

Q. You talked about the difference between the front and the back nine. Was there anything you saw today when you were on that back nine that you think you can get better at as the tournament goes on?

JING YAN: Yeah, I think just like once you give yourself opportunities to just like be aggressive and try to think about making the putt instead of being very guarded about where the next shot is going to be; that's not something you can control.

Q. Even though you talked about the back nine not being kind of what you wanted to see from the day, how proud are you still of your placement on the leaderboard?

JING YAN: Yeah, I'm happy. Yeah. I don't think about that too much so I'm happy with the way I scored today.