Jenny Shin won for the first time in more than a decade at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.
Shin, whose first LPGA title came at the 2016 Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, tapped in for bogey on the 18th hole Sunday at Dundonald Links to end a 3,738-day drought.
“My first win didn’t really feel like a win at the time. I didn’t feel like I deserved it. But this one definitely feels a lot different,” Shin said. “This one feels like I earned it. I worked hard for it.”
That she did. Shin led by five shots through 54 holes and by eight after her second hole in the final round. But three consecutive bogeys on Nos. 6-8, combined with four consecutive birdies by A Lim Kim on Nos. 9-12, saw Shin’s advantage cut to two.
The 33-year-old, however, responded with a pair of birdies early on her back nine to give her the cushion needed to prevail. She closed with a couple of late bogeys for a 75, but good enough to finish two clear of Kim at 9 under.
Shin earned $300,000 for her victory and a two-year tour exemption.
“I started working with my putting coach four years ago, and he asked me what my goal was. I said I needed to win before I retire,” Shin said.
It’s been a long, winding road for Shin, who was the youngest player (13) to win the U.S. Girls’ Junior and dealt with difficulties in recent years in taking her club back.
Immediately after her belated second LPGA win, Shin was mobbed by peers and friends. She’ll see more of them this upcoming week at the season’s final major, the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
“I was very grateful for everyone to be there,” she said of the 18th-hole scene. “I’m so grateful. I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow.”