Jenny Shin of South Korea claimed her first victory on the LPGA Tour, shooting a bogey-free 4-under-par 67 to win the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout by two strokes over Gerina Piller and two other South Koreans, Amy Yang and Mi Jung Hur, at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.
The 23-year-old Shin, who played at Torrance High near Los Angeles after moving to the U.S. when she was 9, birdied three of the first five holes, added another birdie at No. 10 and closed with eight consecutive pars.
“I was very nervous on the last hole because I didn’t know I was leading by two strokes, I thought it was one,” said Shin, whose only other pro victory came in the 2010 International at Concord on the LPGA Futures Tour. “I was chasing the leaders all week until I made those birdies on the front nine today.
“I kept putting the ball past the hole on the last six holes, but once I made the first one for par I as confident I could make the rest of them, and I did. … Still in awe. Nothing has registered yet. I think it will hit me as soon as I talk to my mom.”
Piller, trying to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour in front of her hometown gallery, couldn’t hold the 54-lead and closed with a 73, while Hur and Yang both finished with 71s.
“I was proud of the way I finished,” said Piller, who birdied the last hole to finish in the top six for the fourth straight time. “I’ll be back.
“The thing that makes it more special is I don’t have to play good golf for (her family and friends) to continue to love me, so that’s pretty cool. No matter what I shoot, no matter what I do, they’re behind me.”
Shanshan Feng of China was four shots back in fifth after a 68, followed two shots further back by Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who has a 72.
Three other South Koreans, Na Yeon Choi (68), Eun Hee Ji (73) and Sei Young Kim (74) were seven strokes down in a tie for seventh, while Cristie Kerr was another shot behind in a tie for 10th with Karine Icher of France and Mirim Lee of South Korea, all three coming in at 70.
