LPGA: Jiyai Shin takes unlikely share of lead at Palos Verdes

Jiyai Shin hits out of a bunker on the 16th hole at Palos Verdes Golf Club.

Associated Press

March 23, 2024 7:01 PM PT

One of Seri’s Kids had an unlikely share of the lead in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship after a windy Saturday afternoon at Palos Verdes Golf Club.

Jiyai Shin — the 35-year-old South Korean star who last played a full LPGA Tour schedule in 2013 — shot a bogey-free eight-under 63 on the course overlooking the Pacific Ocean, then ended up tied for the lead hours later when defending champion Ruoning Yin closed with a triple bogey.

Pak is one of the most influential players in LPGA history, a pioneer for South Korean players to follow her path. Shin, who now plays the Japanese and Korean tours to be closer to home, received a sponsor exemption in the event.

“Seri is my idol, still,” Shin said, “When I first time playing LPGA, they called [us] Seri’s Kids. This is her first hosting event, so I feel so proud. Just glad to be playing here.”

A stroke ahead entering the par-four 18th, Yin drove to the right into thick rough under trees, with more trees ahead. Instead of hitting sideways to the fairway, the 21-year-old Chinese player tried to punch a low shot through an opening in the trees toward the green, but the ball struck a trunk and bounced back into more trouble.

Seven strokes behind second-round leader Malia Nam entering the day, Shin was tied with former UCLA player Alison Lee (68) at nine-under 204.

“I’ve never won out here before and that’s something I’m still looking for, my first victory on the LPGA Tour,” the 29-year-old Lee said. “It would be really cool to win at home in front of all my friends and family.”

The fourth-ranked Yin had a 71 to drop into a tie for third at seven under with second-ranked Nelly Korda (67) and former USC players Nam (72) and Gabriela Ruffels (65).

“I would say the toughest day with the wind and a little bit softer conditions with the rain we had in the morning,” said Korda, the LPGA Drive On Championship winner in late January in Florida in her last event. “I would say the wind was a huge factor.”

Shin had five straight birdies on Nos. 3-7 and played the last four in three under with birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 18. A two-time Women’s British Open winner with 11 LPGA Tour victories, the 5-foot-2 player is one of the most accurate hitters in women’s golf — a good fit for the hilly, tree-lined course with small greens.

“Well, the first thing is you can see the how beautiful ocean view here, so we need to be focusing on the golf,” Shin said. “And then, actually, the setting is not for the long golfer. ... I’m not a long hitter, so when I practice round, ‘OK, I might have a chance (to win) on this golf course.’”

The 24-year-old Nam — from Hawaii — is making her second career LPGA Tour start.

“It was definitely a struggle today with the wind, but I think it’s tough for everyone,” Nam said. “I just tried to minimize the mistakes and keep moving forward.”

Ruffels, from Australia, had five straight threes in a front-nine 31. She birdied Nos. 2-5, all par-four holes, parred the par-three sixth and birdied the par-five seventh.

“I putted really well out there today,” Ruffels said. “I kind of knew that it wasn’t going to be a very low scoring day with the wind.”

PGA Valspar Championship

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Keith Mitchell capped off a magnificent run through the “Snake Pit” at Innisbrook Golf Course with a shot he never saw go in. His 7-iron from the 18th fairway one-hopped into the hole for eagle and a two-shot lead.

Mitchell was among a dozen players on the fringe of contention at a tournament so tight that it began with all 77 players who made the cut separated by a mere six shots.

That changed when he went 3-2-2 through the closing stretch of the Copperhead course, the first player to do that in tournament history. Mitchell holed a birdie putt just inside 15 feet on the 16th hole, hit 6-iron to inside three feet for birdie on the par-three 17th and then holed out on the 18th hole with a 7-iron from about 151 yards up a steep hill.

That puts Mitchell at 10-under 203, two shots clear of Mackenzie Hughes (69), Seamus Power (68) and Peter Malnati (68).