Koreans eyeing elusive first title of season

By Kang Seung-woo

Korean women golfers are headed to Arizona hoping to capture an elusive first title of the year at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, Thursday.

This season Korea, seen as one of the best pipelines to the U.S. women’s professional golf circuit, has seen its players let victory slip away on the final holes of tournaments.

At February’s ISP Handa Women’s Australian Open in Melbourne, the LPGA’s season opener, Seo Hee-kyung and Ryu So-yeon were close to winning, carrying a one-shot lead over the trailing group going to the 18th hole, but both ended up making bogeys and losing to American Jessica Korda in a playoff.

At the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore two weeks later, Jenny Shin went to the final hole with a one-shot lead but the tournament was delayed for about 90 minutes due to lightning and the 19-year-old doubled bogeyed, allowing compatriot Choi Na-yeon, Shanshan Feng of China and eventual winner Angela Stanford of the United States to force a playoff.

Although Korean golfers have failed to win in the first three tournaments of the season, they have shown solid displays, with at least three players finishing in the top 10 in each event ― three in Australia, four in Thailand and five in Singapore.

Shin Ji-yai and Jenny Shin are the top prospects for the Korean sisterhood at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix to end the run of bad luck.

Eight-time LPGA Tour winner Shin Ji-yai, who finished last season winless for the first time since turning pro in 2006, came third at the Honda LPGA Thailand and tied for eighth in Singapore, is looking to end her title drought.

“Although I have not triumphed this season, I am happy that I did my best (in the last three tournaments,” Shin said at a press conference last week in Korea. The 23-year-old returned home to nurse a hand injury after withdrawing from the Daikin Orchid Ladies, the JLPGA’s season opener.

“As I have produced good scores in the opening events, I am looking forward to the upcoming tournaments,” she said.

Jenny Shin, who made her LPGA debut last year, has posted a top-10 finish in all three appearances this year, along with a tie for second two weeks ago.

In addition to sitting fourth in the money list, she surged 88 places in the world rankings from 149th to 64th in February, raising the possibility of a maiden title.

Ryu, the defending U.S. Women’s Open champion and favored to win the best rookie award this season; Seo, rookie of the year in 2011; and second-ranked Choi will also be looking to top the leaderboard in Arizona.

The 132-player field will also feature world No. 1 Tseng Ya-ni of Taiwan, reigning champion Karrie Webb of Australia and Ai Miyazato of Japan.