Jiyai Shin

Jiyai Shin (Korean: 신지애 Shin Ji-ae, [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 as of the 2020 golf season. 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.

Jiyai Shin 신지애
Shin at the 2009 HSBC Women's Champions
Personal information
Full name	Jiyai Shin
Nickname	Final Round Queen
Born	28 April 1988 South Korea
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Nationality	South Korea
Career
College	Yonsei University
Turned professional	2005
Current tour(s)	LPGA of Japan Tour (joined 2005) LPGA of Korea Tour (joined 2005)
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour (2009–13)
Professional wins	59
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	11
Ladies European Tour	6
LPGA of Japan Tour	26
LPGA of Korea Tour	21
Ladies Asian Golf Tour	1
ALPG Tour	3
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 2)
ANA Inspiration	T5: 2010
Women's PGA C'ship	3rd/T3: 2009, 2010
U.S. Women's Open	T5: 2010
Women's British Open	Won: 2008, 2012
Evian Championship	T44: 2013
Achievements and awards
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Amateur career

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

2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2005

• KLPGA Rookie of the Year
• KLPGA Best Amateur

2006

• KLPGA Money list leader

2007

• KLPGA Player of the Year
• KLPGA Money list leader

2008

• KLPGA Player of the Year
• KLPGA Money list leader

2009

• LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year
• LPGA Tour Money list leader
• Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year

2015

• KLPGA Hall of Fame

2018

• LPGA of Japan Tour Player of the Year

Personal life

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 death 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

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

Professional wins (59)

LPGA Tour wins (11)

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)

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 (26)

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	Golf 5 Ladies Professional Golf Tournament	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

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

LPGA of Korea Tour wins (21)

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	Soo-Yun Kang
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)

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

ALPG Tour wins (3)

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

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

Major championships

Wins (2)

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

Results not in chronological order before 2019.

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

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

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" tied

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
ANA Inspiration	0	0	0	1	2	6	9	9
U.S. Women's Open	0	0	0	1	3	5	8	5
Women's PGA Championship	0	0	2	3	3	4	5	5
The Evian Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Women's British Open	2	0	0	2	3	5	9	9
Totals	2	0	2	7	11	20	32	29

• 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

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	1,807,334^1	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

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

Year	Ranking
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]

Team appearances

Professional

• Lexus Cup (representing Asia team): 2007 (winners)
• World Cup (representing South Korea): 2007, 2008
• The Queens (representing Korea): 2016 (captain, winners)

See also

• List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins

References

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". AFP. 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.

External links

• Official website
• Jiyai Shin at the LPGA Tour official site
• Jiyai Shin at the LPGA of Japan Tour official site (in Japanese)
• Jiyai Shin at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site
• Biography on seoulsisters.com
• Ji-Yai Shin pictures