Angel Yin, back from illness, will play for the U.S. at the Solheim Cup

The first signs that Angel Yin was unwell came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Minnesota in late June. Yin, then ranked No. 16 in the world, opened with a solid 1-under 71 before checking herself into a hospital with stomach pain.

The next day, Yin returned to the demanding Hazeltine National course and dug deep to post another 71, making the cut by two strokes. But by Saturday morning, the 27-year-old American was back in the hospital and unable to play the third round. She remained hospitalized for another six days before flying home to Florida. Weeks of gastrointestinal problems were still ahead.

Over the next two months, Yin was unable to return to competition and limited her diet to foods such as rice, boiled chicken and cooked vegetables, she told Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols. Yin was not trying to lose weight, but she lost 35 pounds in all.

She returned to the LPGA in late August at the FM Championship at TPC Boston. The numbers were discouraging: 81 and 76 in the first two rounds. More concerning was the timing: the Solheim Cup, for which Yin had qualified months earlier, was less than two weeks away.

U.S. captain Angela Stanford had been monitoring Yin closely and had a backup plan in the form of Lilia Vu. The former world No. 1 was ready to replace Yin if either the player or Stanford determined that she was not fit for the physical and emotional demands of one of golf’s most pressurized events.

But Yin felt — and feels — ready, and she earned Stanford’s approval. She is at Bernadus Golf in the Netherlands this week with her 11 teammates, plus Vu. On Wednesday, Yin said she was “feeling great.”

Asked about the state of her game, the expressive American said: “I guess everybody has different opinions. I personally think it’s not bad. Every day it’s getting better. So, yeah, I guess it’s like art, right? Everybody has a different opinion. But results just is the only thing that matters, right?”

Not always. But at an event with stakes this high, certainly. The U.S. won the most recent Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones GC in Virginia two years ago, but before that had gone three editions without a victory. American men’s and women’s teams know that winning these events is difficult, and on the road it can feel almost impossible. For success, virtually every player needs to be fully dialed in. Yin understands how her place on the roster may look from the outside.

“I know it’s crazy that I’m here because I played a week before in Boston,” Yin said Wednesday. “Scores, obviously, I’ll just say it: 81, 76. It’s not a score you really bring out and go, wow, that’s the person who’s going to help America bring home the Cup.”

But if Yin can find something close to her normal form, she may be exactly the player Stanford wants and needs. A two-time LPGA winner, Yin thrives on the big stage. She went a combined 4-2 in the last two Solheim Cups and has five top-10 finishes in her last nine majors.

Still, Yin knows she has put Stanford in a difficult position, albeit unintentionally. Under Stanford’s agreement with European captain Anna Nordqvist, every player must compete at least once in the team sessions during the first two days. An exception could be made if, for example, Yin’s condition worsened and she was unable to play. But all signs point to her suiting up for at least one team match and then Sunday singles.

“It’s a tough decision because you don’t want to jeopardize the team,” Yin said. “I can say and be confident as much as I want, but ultimately it’s up to the captain because she needs to be responsible for the 11 of us.”

Stanford now faces the unenviable task of assessing Yin’s health, form and readiness. She knows exactly what Yin can bring to the team. The question is whether Yin can — and will — deliver it this week.

“Well, she’s here,” Stanford said Tuesday. “She’s playing — she’s played two practice rounds. She will play because that’s in the spirit of this competition.”

Stanford could still turn to Vu if necessary, but that option will soon disappear. Once the Opening Ceremony begins Thursday evening, no substitutes will be permitted. Any withdrawal after that point would leave the team with 11 players and cost it one point in Sunday singles.

The bright side for the U.S. is that Yin says her game is improving by the day, and her teammates do not sound worried about her form. On Wednesday, Alison Lee said Yin had not looked fatigued or unfit. Yin has been grinding through practice rounds, and Lee called her “one of the hardest working girls here this week.”

For Yin, that support has provided fuel.

“I have my team that trusts me,” Yin said. “They have been super supportive, assistant captains and the captains. With a team like that, I think we can do anything, like trying to win this week.”