|
"The LPGA Tour is losing a transcendent star in Sorenstam, but it may be gaining another in the 20-year-old Shin." On Thursday, the prestigious New York Times, under the title "Rising Star in Golf, Big Sister at Home," cast its limelight on Shin Ji-Yai, who will join the LPGA Tour next year. Reporter Karen Crouse wrote that, in Korea, Shin is nicknamed the "Finals Queen" while in the U.S. she is known as "Chalk Line" because she hits the ball straight. The reporter also went on to say that Shin's other nickname is the "Next Pak Se-ri," but in terms of personality, Shin is more like Nancy Lopez, who could melt a gallery with her smile.
Quoting Shin's words, "My whole golf career I am dedicating to my mother," the article detailed her mother's death in a car accident in 2003 and the fact that she prays to her mother for good luck. It also quoted Shin's manager, Rachel Chun, as saying, "Although the LPGA Tour beckoned, Shin was content to play on the Korean tour in 2008 so she could spend as much time as possible with her little brother and sister."
The reporter ended her article by saying, "Can Shin generate the star power the LPGA Tour lost with the retirement of Sorenstam? The early indications are promising."
Shin, who is attempting to set a new record of winning major golf tournaments in Korea, Japan and the U.S. in a single season, was tied for second place with a one-under par 71 with Jeon Mi-jeong, Lee Ji-hee and Yuko Mitsuka in the first round of the LPGA Tour Championship Ricoh Cup at Miyazaki County Club in Miyazaki, Japan on Thursday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
