EXCLUSIVE! Yani Tseng interview

In an exclusive interview, the World #1 and three-time Major Champion, who was in Hong Kong last month for a client day with Lacoste, her long-time sponsor, talks to Alex Jenkins about her rise to the summit of the women's game, her friendship with Annika Sorenstam and her plans for the future

Yani in action during the final round at Mission Hills Country Club in CaliforniaWhat do you think you'd be doing if you didn't play golf?
I love kids and would have loved to have worked as a kindergarten teacher, but I don't know if kids love me [laughs]. My dream is to build a school in Taiwan, one that will include golf and some other sports. I haven't figured it all out yet but it's something I'd really love to do in the future.

Who do you hang out with on Tour?
I hang out with Suzann Pettersen quite a lot. We've been trying to play tennis together but we've been sticking to golf. We practice a lot together. She's a member at Bay Hill and I'm at Lake Nona so we're nearby. I also spend time with some of the Korean players and I like eating Japanese food with Momoko Ueda.

You played a couple of professional events with the men in Taiwan. Is that something you want to do more of – perhaps on the PGA Tour?
I played with the men in order to learn. I can't beat them; I'd be very happy to make the cut but it's more of a learning experience than anything else. If I become world number one then there would be more of a chance of playing with the men in the future.

You're considered one of the longest hitters on the LPGA. How far do you drive the ball and who are the top five biggest hitters on Tour?
The top five are Sophie Gustafson, Maria Hjorth [pause]... Suzanne [Petterson] and me are pretty much the same. Brittany Lincicome is also long. I've only played once with Laura Davies and that day she was hitting it right, left, right, so I couldn't really tell how long she was [laughs]. With my driver I can carry the ball around 260 yards off the tee.

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Written by Alex Jenkins

Click here to see the published article.

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