“The kid was really, really happy" -Angel Yin gives a special souvenir to young fan at the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship

Angel Yin spent some quality time with her fans after an impressive opening round of the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship on Thursday, July 27.

Yin carded a 4-under 67 in the first round at Evian-Les-Bains, France, that consisted of seven birdies and three bogeys.

On the par-5 15th hole, she hit a shot that went out of the fairway just outside the hole. A young kid accompanying his sister picked up the ball while it was still in play.

Yin's caddie, Markus Zechmann, chased the boy and inquired about the initial landing of the ball. After a little negotiation, he traded Yin's golf ball for two signed balls.

Speaking at the post-round interview, Angel Yin said that the kid was happy to get the ball. She was quoted by ASAP Sports as saying:

"He got my golf ball. I was like far away and I saw his arm go up like this. So then like thank God my caddie was up front and he chased him down."

She added:

"I don't really know the ruling if a kid does take my golf ball, but, yeah, we found the golf ball. I gave him and his sister a golf ball. Traded it for my actual golf ball I needed to play."

A similar incident happened in last year's Evian Championship when a spectator picked up Nelly Korda's ball while it was still in play. Unlike Yin, Korda wasn't lucky enough to get the ball back.

This was the second time Angel Yin had experienced something like this. She recalled the incident during the Thursday interview.

"In Korea some lady took my golf ball," Yin said. "I know she took my golf ball, but it was such a far walk down, it was an elevated shot, had to hit down, and I saw this lady bent down, 'Oh, my God, I think that's my golf ball.'"

"I didn't chase her down. We didn't know, so we just said it was a lost ball. It was really difficult to say because it was like -- it was like not even 50/50. It was less than that. I just had the feeling it was her. My golf ball was gone," she added.

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How has Angel Yin performed at the 2023 Evian Championship, round 2?

Paula Reto during the first round of Amundi Evian Championship 2023

Angel Yin started her second round at 7:39 a.m. ET on Friday, July 28. Grouped with Rachel Kuehn, Yin has made eight straight pars and is still at 4-under.

Although Angel Yin has come close to winning a major twice in her career, she failed to cross the final hurdle. Earlier this year, she lost to Lilia Vu in the playoffs of the Chevron Championship.

Paula Reto of South Africa is leading at 8-under halfway through the second round, making two birdies and a bogey so far. Patty Tavatanakit, Yuka Saso, and Celine Boutier are tied for second at 6-under.

While Tavatanakit and Saso have completed their second round, Boutier has finished 13 holes (at the time of writing).