Monday 2 May 2016 06:55, UK
Jenny Shin claimed a first LPGA Tour victory with a two-shot win at the Volunteer of America Texas Shootout, where Gerina Piller's hopes slipped away during the final day.
Making her 133rd Tour start, Shin closed with a four-under 67 to finish at 14 under par. The 23-year-old South Korean player went to high school in Torrance, California, and won the 2006 US Girls' Junior.
"Still in awe. Nothing has registered yet," Shin said. "I wanted to talk to my mum, but I was on the verge of tears, so I hung up without really her answering the phone. I think it will hit me as soon as I talk to my mum."
Third-round leader Gerina Piller, the area resident seeking her first Tour victory, birdied the final hole for a 73 to tie for second with South Koreans Amy Yang and Mi Jung Hur.
Yang and Hur each shot 71.
Shin birdied three of the first five holes and added another on the par-five 10th. She closed with eight pars, the last an up-and-down save from right of the green on the par-five 18th. Other players showered her with beer after the victory.
"It wasn't something I pictured, for sure," Shin said. "I wanted something like champagne, but now I'm stinking of beer. Then they were like, 'Oh, you stink of beer'." Then they shower you more with water. But it's still good. I'm so glad they stuck around and gave me a shower of beer."
She's projected to jump from 38th to 24th in the world ranking.
"Nothing's easy, golf is not easy," Shin said. "I worked my butt off out there. I didn't have my 'A' game this week, surprisingly, and to know that I won with kind of a semi-goodish game, it makes me very happy."
Piller lives in Plano, about 20 miles from Las Colinas. The long-hitting US Solheim Cup hero grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, and played at the University Texas-El Paso. A number of high school and college friends joined her family, led by her husband, PGA Tour player Martin Piller in the gallery.
"The thing that makes it more special is I don't have to play good golf for them to continue to love me, so that's pretty cool," Piller said. "No matter what I shoot, no matter what I do, they're behind me."
Fifth-ranked Brooke Henderson closed with a 71 to tie for 19th at three under, ending the 18-year-old Canadian's string of top-10 finishes at eight.
Cheyenne Knight, a 19-year-old University of Alabama freshman from nearby Aledo, had a 72 to tie for 30th at one under. Karah Sanford, a 14-year-old high school freshman from San Diego, tied for 51st at six over after a 77.
