Ricoh British Women’s Open, Jiyai Shin of South Korea Wins

Jiyai Shin 

Hearty congratulations to Jiyai Shin of South Korea, she produced one of the finest performances of her illustrious career when she defied atrocious weather to close with a battling one over par 73 and claim a domineering nine shot victory in the 2012 Ricoh Women’s British Open at a wet and windswept Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Her easy cruise to victory  means that for the first time in golfing history Asians have won all four of the women’s Majors in a single calendar year with South Korea’s Sun Young Yoo winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship, China’s Shanshan Feng claiming the LPGA Championship and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi beating the field at the US Women’s Open. There was no other competitor who finished in under par, Inbee Park was alone in second place with a tournament total of even par. Third place went to Paula Creamer of America. finishing with a score of +1 over par.

This Jiyai’s second win at this event, last time in 2008, today she was really happy to be a two-time winner of the trophy;

“I can’t put into words how happy I feel to win the title for a second time. My first win in 2008 changed my life. This week, this win, I think it will change it too.  I said at the start of the week I wanted to play every round in one under par so to get to nine under in this weather on a course as tough as this is incredible. Now I know I can get a good score on any course, I’m pretty sure of that. I can’t tell you why so many Asian players are winning majors at the moment, maybe it’s down to hard work. Maybe it’s luck, or a bit of both.”

Lydia Ko arrived at Hoylake having won this year’s US Women’s Amateur and then followed that up by becoming the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour, winning the CN Canadian Open at just of 15 years old. Here at Royal Liverpool she won The Smyth Salver, which is awarded to the leading amateur, putting together rounds of 72, 71, 76 and a last round of 78 for a +9 over par total of 297 and a two-stroke victory over England’s Holly Clyburn.

Lydia said of her first British Open experience;

“I have got the award for the leading amateur and that’s what I wanted after I made the cut. This is my first experience of the British Open, I didn’t play as well as I wanted but I have won the amateur prize so it wasn’t a bad day. It was playing really tough out there, this is one of the hardest courses I have ever played and there were times when the weather made it almost impossible to play.”