|
Jenny Shin, like many Koreans, started playing
golf while young, then moved from Korea to America to help
her budding career. It didn't take her long to make a mark
in the States. She won the Los Angeles City Championship at
the age of 10, and by the time she was 13, was competing in
USGA golf championships.
After competing at the Amateur Pub Links in
2006, Shin entered the US Girl's Junior championship, the
biggest event for junior golfers in the country. She was not
expecting to go very far in the tournament; in fact, her mother
had only reserved their hotel room until the quarterfinals,
expecting they would be out of things before then. But Shin
kept winning, working her way methodically through the competition.
In the semifinals, she struggled with dizziness in the middle
of her round, but still managed to win that match to advance
to the finals. Her opponent there was Korean American Vickie
Hurst, who had downed the top player in the field, Mina Harigae,
in her semifinal match.
The final was 36 holes. After 18 holes, they
were all tied, but Hurst took a decided advantage at the start
of the afternoon session. Hurst, who was outdriving Shin by
40 yards most of the day, went to a 3 up lead after winning
three straight holes. On the back nine, Hurst made a couple
of mistakes, but still held a 2 up lead with 4 holes to go.
She then missed a very short putt on the 33rd hole to give
Shin the hole, then missed a very makeable birdie on the 35th
hole. Still, she had a one up lead with one hole to play,
the match well in hand.
On the final hole, Hurst was on the green
in regulation, while Shin had to scramble to make par. Hurst
had two putts to win it, but finished the hole with a three
putt; thus Shin won the hole and tied the match, forcing a
playoff. On that first playoff hole, a shell shocked Hurst
made a mess of it, and ended up conceding the match to the
stunned 13 year old Shin. Shin thus became the second youngest
golfer in history (after Aree Song) to ever win this event.
It was only her second ever Girl's Junior competition.
In 2008, Shin lost in the finals of the Polo
World Golf Championship to Korean amateur Jung Min Lee. She
continued to play well throughout 2008 and 2009, making the
AJGA All American First team squad in 2009 for the third straight
time.
Shin turned pro in 2010 and joined the Futures
Tour. She made 7 top tens during the season, improving gradually
through the year. After an 8th place at the Tate & Lyle
Championship, her first top ten, she made a 2nd, then a a
4th, then won her first event as a pro when she captured the
International at Concord in July. Three more top tens in her
final four events allowed her to finish 4th on the year ending
money list, which earned her full status on the LPGA tour
in 2011.
Shin had a decent rookie season on the big
tour. She achieved two top tens and made over $160,000 in
earnings. She finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year race.
This gave her top status for 2012.
|
