Jiyai Shin (Korean신지애; RRSin Jiae; [ɕin dʑi.ɛː]; born 28 April 1988) is a former world No. 1 ranked South Korean professional golfer who primarily plays on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She previously played primarily on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Korea Tour (KLPGA). She has broken existing KLPGA records, winning 10 events in 19 starts on the KLPGA Tour in 2007. In 2008, playing only 10 tournaments on the LPGA Tour as a non-member, she won three events, including the Women's British Open and the ADT Championship. She has been ranked No. 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for 25 weeks and was the first Asian to be ranked No. 1. With 64 wins worldwide on six different tours, she is the winningest Korean golfer, male or female, of all time.

Jiyai Shin
신지애
Shin at the 2009 HSBC Women's Champions
Personal information
Full nameJiyai Shin
NicknameFinal Round Queen
Born (1988-04-28) 28 April 1988 (age 36)
Yeonggwang-gun, South Jeolla Province, South Korea
Height5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Sporting nationality South Korea
Career
CollegeYonsei University
Turned professional2005
Current tour(s)LPGA of Japan Tour (joined 2005)
LPGA of Korea Tour (joined 2005)
Former tour(s)LPGA Tour (2009–13)
Professional wins64
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour11
Ladies European Tour6
LPGA of Japan Tour30
LPGA of Korea Tour21
Ladies Asian Golf Tour1
ALPG Tour4
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 2)
Chevron ChampionshipT5: 2010
Women's PGA C'ship3rd/T3: 2009, 2010
U.S. Women's OpenT2: 2023
Women's British OpenWon: 2008, 2012
Evian ChampionshipT44: 2013
Achievements and awards
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Amateur career edit

In 2005, while she was still in high school, Shin was the only amateur to win a KLPGA event that season when she won the SK Enclean Invitational. She turned professional at the end of the 2005 season.

Professional career edit

2006 edit

Returning to the KLPGA as a rookie in 2006, she started her year with a pair of third-place finishes in her first two events and went on to claim three wins on the season.

2007 edit

2007 marked Shin's breakout year. She played 19 events on the KLPGA and won 10 of them, shattering all existing Tour records. She also ventured onto the LPGA Tour for the first time and played three of the four women's major championships. At the U.S. Women's Open she finished sixth. The next month at the Evian Masters, an event on the LPGA Tour and a major on the Ladies European Tour, she finished tied for third. Shin finished 2007 ranked 8th in the world, the highest ranked Korean of all, and the only non-LPGA member who ranked in the top ten.

2008 edit

Opening 2008 at the Women's World Cup of Golf, Shin and number two KLPGA player Eun-Hee Ji succumbed to the Philippines pair of Jennifer Rosales and Dorothy Delasin with a score of −16 after 3rd and final day of competition. Philippines scored −18 and received the $240,000 cheque.

Shin then played at the Women's Australian Open where she finished 2nd, losing to Karrie Webb in a playoff.[1]

Shin won the Women's British Open in Berkshire, England for her first LPGA Tour and major win. This made her the first non-member of the LPGA to win a major since Laura Davies won the U.S. Women's Open in 1987. She won the 2008 Mizuno Classic in November, shooting scores of 68, 66 and 67. She was six shots ahead of the next competitor to win at −15 (201), to notch her second LPGA career win.[2] Two weeks later she won the ADT Championship, the culminating event in the season-long LPGA playoff series, and claimed the $1 million prize. She became the first-ever non-LPGA member to win three LPGA tournaments.

2009 edit

Shin's wins in LPGA Tour events in 2008 qualified her for LPGA membership in 2009. She got off to a slow start as an LPGA member, missing her first cut ever in an LPGA tournament at the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay. She rebounded and won the third event of the season, the limited field HSBC Women's Champions, scoring 66 in both the third and fourth rounds. She won again in June at the full-field Wegmans LPGA tournament[3] and in September at the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship. By the first week of November she officially clinched the LPGA Rookie of the Year award.

She had been awarded a Talent Medal of Korea by the President of Korea in 2009.[4]

2010 edit

On 2 May, Shin won the Cyber Agent Ladies on the LPGA of Japan Tour. On 3 May, she became the World Number 1 ranked women's golfer, replacing Lorena Ochoa who finished in sixth place in an LPGA tournament the previous day.[5] She held the position until it was taken over by Ai Miyazato on 21 June 2010 and regained it on 26 July after winning the Evian Masters.[6]

On 19 September, Shin won the MetLife-Korea Economics KLPGA Championship, one of the major championships on the LPGA of Korea Tour. With this victory, Shin qualified for the KLPGA Hall of Fame, although she has to fulfill her career as professional golfer for 10 years before membership can be official. If she continues her professional career, she will be the third Hall of Famer in 2015, after Ok-Hee Ku and Se Ri Pak.[7]

2014 edit

Shin gave up her LPGA membership before the start of the season to be nearer to her family in Korea and played on the LPGA of Japan Tour, winning four times during the 2014 season.[8]

2015 edit

Shin won the Cyber Agent Ladies in early May for the second time in her career. She birdied three of the final five holes on the back nine to win by one stroke over Erika Kikuchi of Japan. This victory is her 10th win on the JLPGA Tour.[9]

Honors and awards edit

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2015

2018

Personal life edit

In 2004 at age 16, Shin's mother was killed in a car accident. Her younger brother and sister were seriously injured and spent nearly a year in a hospital. Her mother's life insurance money funded the beginning of her golf career.[10] Shin currently owns a home in Atlanta, Georgia, where she lives with her brother, stepmother, and father.[11]

Endorsements edit

Shin has endorsement deals with Three Bond Holdings, Jatco, M.U Sports & Ecco.

Professional wins (64) edit

LPGA Tour wins (11) edit

Legend
Major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (9)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 3 Aug 2008 Ricoh Women's British Open[1] 66-68-70-66=270 −18 3 strokes   Yani Tseng
2 9 Nov 2008 Mizuno Classic[2] 68-66-67=201 −15 6 strokes   Mayu Hattori
3 23 Nov 2008 ADT Championship 69-75-71-70 1 stroke   Karrie Webb
4 8 Mar 2009 HSBC Women's Champions 72-73-66-66=277 −11 2 strokes   Katherine Hull
5 28 Jun 2009 Wegmans LPGA 65-68-67-71=271 −17 7 strokes   Kristy McPherson
  Yani Tseng
6 13 Sep 2009 P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship 70-70-64=207 −9 Playoff   Angela Stanford
  Sun Young Yoo
7 25 Jul 2010 Evian Masters[1] 70-69-68-67=274 −14 1 stroke   Na Yeon Choi
  Morgan Pressel
  Alexis Thompson
8 7 Nov 2010 Mizuno Classic[2] 65-66-67=198 −18 2 strokes   Yani Tseng
9 10 Sep 2012 Kingsmill Championship 62-68-69-69=268 −16 Playoff   Paula Creamer
10 16 Sep 2012 Ricoh Women's British Open[1] 71-64-71-73=279 −9 9 strokes   Inbee Park
11 17 Feb 2013 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open[3] 65-67-70-72=274 −18 2 strokes   Yani Tseng

LPGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2009 P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship   Angela Stanford
  Sun Young Yoo
Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 2012 Kingsmill Championship   Paula Creamer Won with par on ninth extra hole

1 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
2 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan Tour.
3 Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour and the Ladies European Tour.

Ladies European Tour wins (6) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 3 Aug 2008 Ricoh Women's British Open[4] 66-68-70-66=270 −18 3 strokes   Yani Tseng
2 25 Jul 2010 Evian Masters[4] 70-69-68-67=274 −14 1 stroke   Na Yeon Choi
  Morgan Pressel
  Alexis Thompson
3 16 Sep 2012 Ricoh Women's British Open[4] 71-64-71-73=279 −9 9 strokes   Inbee Park
4 17 Feb 2013 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open[5] 65-67-70-72=274 −18 2 strokes   Yani Tseng
5 28 Feb 2016 RACV Ladies Masters[6] 68-70-71-69=278 −14 3 strokes   Holly Clyburn
6 11 Feb 2018 ActewAGL Canberra Classic [6] 65-68-64=197 −19 6 strokes   Minjee Lee

4 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
5 Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour and the LPGA Tour.
6 Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour.
Tournaments in bold denotes major tournaments in LET.

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (30) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin
of victory
Runner(s)-up
1 23 Mar 2008 Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup 70-69-73=212 −4 Playoff   Sakura Yokomine
2 9 Nov 2008 Mizuno Classic[7] 68-66-67=201 −15 6 strokes   Mayu Hattori
3 25 Oct 2009 Masters GC Ladies 70-70-68-208 −8 Playoff   Yuko Mitsuka
  Akiko Fukushima
4 2 May 2010 Cyber Agent Ladies 72-70-66=208 −8 2 strokes   Akane Iijima
  Miho Koga
5 7 Nov 2010 Mizuno Classic[7] 65-66-67=198 −18 2 strokes   Yani Tseng
6 22 Jun 2014 Nichirei Ladies 69-65-70=204 −12 4 strokes   Hikari Fujita
  Rumi Yoshiba
7 10 Aug 2014 Meiji Cup 70-66-68=204 −12 2 strokes   Teresa Lu
8 31 Aug 2014 Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament 67-71-70=208 −8 3 strokes   Saiki Fujita
  Lee Bo-mee
9 21 Sep 2014 Munsingwear Ladies Tokai Classic 68-67-67=202 −14 1 stroke   Lee Na-ri
10 3 May 2015 Cyber Agent Ladies 68-71-69=208 −8 1 stroke  Erika Kikuchi
11 21 Jun 2015 Nichirei Ladies 71-67-67=205 −11 1 stroke   Lee Ji-hee
12 29 Nov 2015 Japan LPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup 70-71-72-68=281 −7 6 strokes   Shiho Oyama
13 15 May 2016 Hoken No Madoguchi Ladies 71-67-68=206 −10 2 strokes   Kim Ha-neul
  Lee Bo-mee
14 19 Jun 2016 Nichirei Ladies 67-69-68=204 −12 3 strokes   Minami Katsu (a)
15 30 Oct 2016 Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishi Electric Ladies Golf Tournament 69-72-66=207 −9 1 stroke   Lee Ji-hee
16 25 Aug 2017 Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament 69-65-70-74=278 −10 2 strokes   Babe Liu
17 19 Nov 2017 Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open 70-66-68-67=271 −17 2 strokes   Ai Suzuki
18 6 May 2018 World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup 74-71-70-70=285 −3 1 stroke   Ai Suzuki
19 2 Sep 2018 Golf5 Ladies 64-68-70=202 −14 Playoff   Sakura Koiwai
20 9 Sep 2018 Japan LPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup 67-66-71-68=272 −16 9 strokes   Ahn Sun-ju
  Chung Jae-eun
21 25 Nov 2018 Japan LPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup 66-73-70-68=277 −11 Playoff   Bae Hee-kyung
22 14 Apr 2019 Studio Alice Women's Open 68-70-69=207 −9 1 stroke   Erika Kikuchi
  Saki Takeo
23 28 Apr 2019 Fujisankei Ladies Classic 70-72-63=205 −8 2 strokes   Hinako Shibuno
  Ai Suzuki
  Hikaru Yoshimoto
24 30 Jun 2019 Earth Mondahmin Cup 67-66-68-72=273 −15 3 strokes   Erika Hara
  Mika Miyazato
25 18 Oct 2020 Fujitsu Ladies Golf Tournament 70-70-69=209 −7 2 strokes   Bae Seon-woo
  Ayaka Furue
26 8 Nov 2020 Toto Japan Classic 66-65-66=197 −19 3 strokes   Yuka Saso
27 20 Jun 2021 Nichirei Ladies 70-70-66=206 −10 Playoff   Jeon Mi-jeong
28 25 Jul 2021 Daito Kentaku Eheyanet Ladies 68-68-66-71=273 −15 5 strokes   Mayu Hamada
  Jeon Mi-jeong
  Reika Usui
  Ayaka Watanabe
29 5 Mar 2023 Daikin Orchid Ladies Golf Tournament 73-69-65-71=278 −10 3 strokes   Mone Inami
  Momoko Ueda
30 25 Jun 2023 Earth Mondahmin Cup 68-65-74-68=275 −13 Playoff   Akie Iwai

7 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
Tournaments in bold denotes major tournaments in JLPGA.

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (21) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 11 Sep 2005 SK Enclean Invitational (as an amateur) −11 (68-67-70=205) 2 strokes   Kyeong Bae
2 21 May 2006 Taeyoung Cup Korea Women's Open −11 (67-73-65=205) 2 strokes   Cristie Kerr
3 8 Sep 2006 PAVV Invitational −12 (68-66-70=204) 1 stroke   Hye-Jin Jung
4 19 Nov 2006 Orient China Ladies Open −17 (72-66-64-69=271) 8 strokes   Na Yeon Choi
5 27 Apr 2007 MBC Tour MCSquare Cup Crown CC Ladies Open E (76-73-67=216) Playoff   Joo-Eun Lee
6 3 Jun 2007 Hill State Open −12 (67-71-66=204) 1 stroke   Eun-Hee Ji
7 15 Jun 2007 MBC Tour BC Card Classic −12 (71-67-66=204) 1 stroke   Ji-Yeon Woo
8 23 Jun 2007 KB Star Tour 3rd Tournament at Pohang −16 (66-68-66=200) 2 stroke   Eun-Hee Ji
9 8 Sep 2007 KB Star Tour 4th Tournament at Cheongwon −10 (69-65=134) 2 strokes   Na Yeon Choi
10 16 Sep 2007 SK Energy Invitational −12 (68-66-70=204) 5 strokes   Hee Young Park
  Jin Joo Hong
11 7 Oct 2007 Samsung Finance Ladies Championship −8 (71-67-70=208) 2 strokes   Hyun Hee Moon
12 28 Oct 2007 Interburgo Masters −9 (71-72-67=210) 5 strokes   Na Yeon Choi
13 25 Nov 2007 ADT CAPS Championship −5 (74-69-68=211) 3 strokes   Seon-Wook Lim
14 16 Dec 2007 China Ladies Open −13 (68-68-67=203) 5 strokes   Yani Tseng
15 20 Apr 2008 Woori Investment & Securities Ladies Championship −13 (66-70-67=203) 1 stroke   Ilhee Lee
16 18 May 2008 Taeyoung Cup Korea Women's Open −3 (75-69-69=213) Playoff   So Yeon Ryu
17 15 Jun 2008 BC Card Classic −5 (68-71-72=211) Playoff   Min-Sun Kim
  Hyun-Ji Kim
18 26 Sep 2008 Shinsegae KLPGA Championship −7 (67-70-72=209) 2 strokes   Sun Ju Ahn
19 18 Oct 2008 Hite Cup Championship −13 (68-67-68=203) 2 strokes   Kang Soo-yun
20 26 Oct 2008 KB Star Tour Grand Final at Incheon −3 (66-74-70-73=285) Playoff   Sun Ju Ahn
  He-Yong Choi
21 19 Sep 2010 J Golf Series MetLife-Korea Economic Daily KLPGA Championship −12 (66-72-68-70=276) 4 strokes   Kim Hye-youn

Tournaments in bold denotes major tournaments in KLPGA

Ladies Asian Golf Tour wins (1) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 9 Feb 2007 Thailand Ladies Open −10 (67-72-67=206) 10 strokes   Da-ye Na

WPGA Tour of Australasia wins (4) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 17 Feb 2013 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open[8] 65-67-70-72=274 −18 2 strokes   Yani Tseng
2 28 Feb 2016 RACV Ladies Masters[9] 68-70-71-69=278 −14 3 strokes   Holly Clyburn
3 11 Feb 2018 ActewAGL Canberra Classic[9] 65-68-64=197 −19 6 strokes   Minjee Lee
2 12 Feb 2023 Women's Victorian Open 67-71-66-71=275 −14 5 strokes   Grace Kim
  Pavarisa Yoktuan

8 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
9 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.

Major championships edit

Wins (2) edit

No. Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner-up
1 2008 Ricoh Women's British Open −18 (66-68-70-66=270) 3 strokes   Yani Tseng
2 2012 Ricoh Women's British Open −9 (71-64-71-73=279) 9 strokes   Inbee Park

Results timeline edit

Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Chevron Championship T15 T31 T21 T5 T29 T26 T7 T16 T21 T23
U.S. Women's Open 6 T19 T13 T5 T10 CUT CUT CUT T2
Women's PGA Championship 3 T3 T34 T5 T11
The Evian Championship ^ T44 NT T54
Women's British Open T28 1 T8 T14 21 1 T36 T29 T60 3

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" tied

Summary edit

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Chevron Championship 0 0 0 1 2 7 10 10
Women's PGA Championship 0 0 2 3 3 4 5 5
U.S. Women's Open 0 1 0 2 4 6 9 6
The Evian Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Women's British Open 2 0 1 3 4 6 10 10
Totals 2 1 3 9 13 23 36 33
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 22 (2007 Kraft Nabisco – 2013 LPGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2009 British Open – 2010 U.S. Open)

LPGA Tour career summary edit

Year Tournaments
played
Cuts
made*
Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish
Earnings
(US$)
Money
list rank
Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
2006 1 1 0 0 0 1 T4 63,719 n/a 70.33 n/a
2007 7 7 0 0 1 2 T3 346,259 n/a 71.76 n/a
2008 10 10 3 0 0 6 1 1,682,976 n/a 70.73 n/a
2009 25 23 3 1 3 12 1 1,807,3341 1 70.26 2
2010 18 17 2 1 4 14 1 1,783,127 2 70.25 5
2011 18 18 0 2 0 7 2 720,735 15 70.81 4
2012 18 18 2 0 3 8 1 1,234,597 7 70.31 1
2013 20 19 1 0 0 5 1 602,875 22 70.66 9
2014 5 5 0 0 0 0 T16 n/a n/a 72.47 n/a

1 Shin's $24,349 earnings at the 2009 Honda LPGA Thailand were considered unofficial under LPGA rules and are not included in this total.
* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

  • official through 23 November 2014[12]

World ranking edit

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year Ranking Source
2006 33 [13]
2007 7 [14]
2008 6 [15]
2009 2 [16]
2010 1 [17]
2011 7 [18]
2012 8 [19]
2013 16 [20]
2014 36 [21]
2015 33 [22]
2016 23 [23]
2017 25 [24]
2018 21 [25]
2019 24 [26]
2020 37 [27]
2021 53 [28]
2022 68 [29]
2023 23^ [30]

^ as of 10 July 2023

Team appearances edit

Professional

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Martin, Blake (4 February 2008). "Webb trumps Korean star". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  2. ^ "South Korea's Shin wins Mizuno Classic in Japan". The New York Times. 9 November 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  3. ^ "South Korea's Shin triumphs at Wegmans LPGA event". Agence France-Presse. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Seungchan Kim and Jiyai Shin conferred the 2009 Talent Medals of Korea". Yonsei University.
  5. ^ Shin gains No. 1 world ranking
  6. ^ "Shin back to No. 1 in women's golf ranking". United Press International. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  7. ^ Jiyai Shin enters Hall of Fame (article in Korean)
  8. ^ Mell, Randall. "Former world No. 1 prefers Japan Tour over LPGA". Golf Channel. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Jiyai Shin won 10 career wins". Kuki News. 3 May 2015.
  10. ^ Martin, Blake (31 January 2008). "Korean teenager to give Webb a run for the money at the Open". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  11. ^ "Transcript: Interview with Jiyai Shin". Signon San Diego. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Jiyai Shin stats". LPGA. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2006.
  14. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2007.
  15. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2008.
  16. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2009.
  17. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2010.
  18. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2011.
  19. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2012.
  20. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013.
  21. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014.
  22. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2016.
  24. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2017.
  25. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018.
  26. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 10 July 2023.

External links edit