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03.08.2008

Shin’s Dream Comes True at Sunningdale

South Korea’s Ji Yai Shin might not have been a household name when she arrived this week at Sunningdale but that is about to change now that she has emulated her more celebrated compatriot Se Ri Pak and won the Ricoh Women’s British Open title. 

It was a victory worth £160,000 to the diminutive 20 year-old and it also allows her take out membership of the US LPGA Tour. However, much more important than that it has also transformed her into a Major champion and means that for the rest of her life her countrymen will fete her wherever she goes. 

Shin started the final round one shot behind Japan’s Yuri Fudoh but a composed performance that belied her relative lack of experience saw her card a flawless six under par 66 for an 18 under par total of 270 which was enough for her to finish three shots ahead of Taiwan’s Ya-Ni Tseng and four shots in front of compatriot Eun Hee Lee and the Japanese Fudoh.
With a Major behind her Shin can now boast a lot more than 14 Korean LPGA titles and she will have to become accustomed to photographers and reporters watching her every move. Life will become a bit like a goldfish bowl just as it is for Pak and Miyazato. Every move she makes will be recorded for posterity. She will get used to seeing her image on posters all over Seoul and Busan and now it is extremely unlikely she will ever find time for the archery lessons she gave at the age of eleven in order to concentrate on her golf. 

“This is a dream come true for me,” Shin said in faltering English after the presentation ceremony. “Se Ri Pak was my hero. I grew up watching her win Major titles and now I have one of my own.” 

“I was very nervous this morning,” she added. “But I tried to be calm and I hit a lot of good shots.” 

The 2008 Ricoh Women’s British Open was a watershed for Shin and it was also a Championship that confirmed there is a major shift taking place in professional women’s golf. This year Taiwan’s Ya-Ni Tseng won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and South Korea’s Inbee Park claimed the US Women’s Open and at Sunningdale the Asian domination was even more marked. A glance at the final leaderboard shows there were 13 Asian golfers in the top-20 and that is no accident. The Koreans, Japanese and Taiwanese are renowned for their work ethic and routinely practise for eight or nine hours a day. That was something that was apparent from the work done on the practice ground at Sunningdale and should noted by everyone who wishes to compete in their midst. 

Just about the only evidence of the status quo being maintained was the performance of the likes of Kerr, Ochoa, Creamer, Webb and Gulbis who all claimed place is the top-10. Ochoa was particularly impressive in the defence of the title she won in such style 12 months ago at St Andrews and that performance plus her win in Kraft Nabisco Championship – the first Major of the 2008 season – shows even the hardest-working Asians will not get things all their own way. 

“I felt good today,” said Ochoa. “I tried my best but I didn’t make anything, said the Mexican  “She (Shin) is very good,” she added. “The Asian Tours are very strong and now their top players are coming to the States they are going to get better.” 

Earlier in the day both America’s Kirsty McPherson and Korea’s Eun-A Lim carded seven under par rounds of 65 to equal the low round of the week which was set by Julie Inkster in the first round and replicated by Cristie Kerr in the second. 

McPherson started the day in a share of 54th place but moved all the way up to a tie for 21st alongside compatriot Nicole Castrale with a round that included three birdies on the opening nine and an eagle and two birdies coming home. 

“It was one of those days when the ball just wanted to go in the hole,” said the American who arrived at Sunningdale in a rich vein of form having finished fourth, seventh and seventh on her previous three starts on the LPGA Tour in the States. 

“The last two days I’ve been struggling with my putting but I did some speed drills yesterday and it felt like I rolled the ball better.”
“The whole week I was up and down a bit like the weather,” she added. “But the crowds here are unbelievable. I loved my first British Open. It was great.”
Lim has won once on this year’s Japanese LPGA Tour and she showed why she is currently eighth on its money list by going out in six under par 30 and then carding another birdie on the 459-yard par-5 tenth. She dropped her only shot of the day on the 322-yard par-4 11th but bounced back almost straightaway with another birdie on the 503-yard par-5 14th on her way to finishing tied for 24th place on six under par 281. 

Meanwhile, a couple of hours later, Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam brought her Major career to a memorable end when she holed from 20-feet across the final green for a birdie and a four under par round of 68. That also moved the former World No. 1 up to a share of 24th place but more importantly left her legion of supporters with a fitting memory of an incredible career than has spanned 15 years and produced no less ten Major victories.

“There’s hardly a dry eye in the house,” said the sage BBC commentator Peter Alliss as he watched the massed crowds stand and applaud their heroine and one could detect that even the normally undemonstrative Sorenstam had also been moved by the warmth of the ovation. 

“It was amazing walking up 18,” she said. “Everybody was cheering and I looked up at the scoreboard where I saw a sign that said ‘Annika you’ll be missed’ and I thought that was very special. 

“I’ve been out here 15 years,” she added. “I’ve experienced a lot of joy and a few setbacks but overall it has been great.” 

Sorenstam’s compatriot Anna Nordqvist succeeded England’s Melissa Reid by winning the Smyth Salver awarded to the leading amateur in the field. The current British Ladies’ Open Amateur champion closed with a one over par 73 for a three under par aggregate of 285 and a seven shot victory over the 2007 US Amateur champion Marie Jose Uribe. 

“This is great,” said the 21 year-old Swede who goes back to Arizona State University after competing in next week’s Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika at Frösaker G & CC in Sweden. 

“This was one of my main goals for the season so it’s very special.”
Nordqvist joins an illustrious list of Smyth Salver winners that includes Belle Robertson, Marta Figueras-Dottin, Mary McKenna, Jill Thornhill, Vicki Thomas, Katherine Imrie, Joanne Morley, Rebecca Hudson and Michele Wie who finished tied third behind Jeong Jang at Royal Birkdale in 2005.

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