Second Round: Shin vs. Wie

By Yoon Chul

Staff Reporter

South Korean golfer Shin Ji-yai is to compete in the J Golf Phoenix Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) International in Arizona ― on the eve of the season's first major.

The competition, being staged from Thursday to Sunday, is the first in the United States this season and opens just one week before the major tournament, Kraft Nabisco Championship.

And LPGA rookie Shin is likely to draw many people to the spectators galleries because she will have a head-to-head with another, alternative-style young gun for the first time in six weeks.

That individual is rival and Korean-American Michelle Wie.

Both competed in the LPGA season-opening tournament, the SBS Open, the first event in which both had an LPGA exemption card.

While Wie finished second, Shin failed to make the cut.

But the 20-year-old Shin rebounded by grabbing the winner's trophy at the HSBC Women's Champions on March 8.

Though she didn't put in a good performance at the Masters Classic in Mexico, Shin has been keenly awaiting the LPGA Tour to hit the United States.

Her accurate drive-shot and iron-shot will be superior on the U.S. courses, which usually have small fairways with deep rough.

Wie has only appeared in a few tournaments so far as she continues to study at university as well as compete on the circuit ― but she has still managed to show much-improved and mature play.

She has hit powerful and long shots since last year, her swing was very swift and ball-hitting sound and clean, but her shot often lacked control, veering off the fairways into deep rough or bunkers.

The 19-year-old had competed with men on the PGA Tour, believing her unusually long drive would see her through the cut.