Sweet Scottish Open success sees Jenny Shin bridge ten-year gap on LPGA Tour

Five shots ahead at the halfway stage and still leading by that margin heading into the closing circuit on the Ayrshire coast, the 33-year-old ended up winning by just two shots from compatriot A Lim Kim, though, in fairness, it never looked as though she was going to be denied.

Signing off with a 75 for a nine-under-par total, Shin missed out on a chance to set a new record for the largest margin of victory in the $2 million event as she fell short of compatriot Mi Jung Hur (2019) and American Lauren Coughlin (2024) both claiming the coveted crown by four shots.

Nonetheless, it was a sweet success for the Seoul-born player after waiting such a long time - ten years, two months and 25 days - to follow up her breakthrough success, which came in the 2016 Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America.

“Yeah, my first win didn't really feel like a win at the time. I didn't feel like I deserved it,” admitted Shin. “But this one definitely feels a lot different. This one feels like I earned it. I worked hard for it. 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. I'm very, very excited.”

The last LPGA player to go ten or more years between official victories was Vicki Fergon, who went 12 years, three months and six days between victories at the 1984 S&H Golf Classic and the 1996 Michelob Light Heartland Classic.

Shin is the third Korean to win this event, joining the aforementioned Hur and Mi Hyang Lee (2017). The new champion is also the event’s third oldest winner after Ryann O’Toole and Stacy Lewis, who were 34 and 35 respectively when they landed the title.

The victory, which came in her ninth start in the tournament, with a tie for 16th in 2023 being her previous best effort, was worth $300,000. It took Shin’s season’s earnings to $608,946 while her career earnings now stand at just over $8.3 million.

“I feel like I've done everything wrong, just wasn't hitting it like I was the last three days and was hitting it into bunkers, bushes, and it wasn't fun,” she said of a last-day struggle. “With the three bogeys in a row, I thought, Oh, boy, I don't know where this is going to go? But yeah, I hung in there and so I'm quite proud of myself.”

World No 1 Nelly Korda signed off with a 69 - her best effort of the event. “Very up-and-down week,” she reported of her warm up for the AIG Women’s Open, which starts at Royal Lytham & St Annes on Thursday. “It was nice to finish with a good round on Sunday leading into next week, but I think any time that you get to play in this kind of weather right before the British, it's great prep and you know what you're going to get.

“So experienced everything this week - sunshine, a little bit of warmth, and sideways rain, gusty winds. But that's a given out here. So just trying to get into the mindset for next week and also whether or not bounces are going to go your way. There's so many things that are going on during your shot that you really have to stay committed.

“This year is definitely firmer. Next week from what I've heard, it's going to be really firm. Trying to hit those show lots running into the green. Don't get to play those too often, so the more practice you get, the better.”

As defending champion Lottie Woad had to settle for a share of 37th spotn, Hannah Darling picked up the Jock MacVicar Award for leading Scot, though closing efforts of 80 and 79 took a little of the shine off her week after holing a monster putt on Friday to make the cut.

“It's a mix of emotions,” she admitted. “The weekend has been tough. I hit the ball well and gave myself lots of chances but there were too many mistakes. I expected a lot more of myself to be honest. I grew up in these conditions and know how to play in them.”