Thursday, December 24, 2009

Ji-Yai Shin: Bringing Home the Bacon and Paying Her Dues

Check out the Quote of the Year from Beth Ann Baldry's look back on covering the LPGA in 2009 over at Golfweek:

"My father sat me down and said, 'This is what we exchanged for your mother's life. I'm going to invest this in you, so be successful. Go get it.'" --Jiyai Shin on the death of her mother, who died when Jiyai was 15 years old. Shin's father poured the leftover life insurance money, $17,000, into her golf game after paying off family debts.

Who would have guessed back then that at age 21--among all her other accomplishments--Shin would be a featured participant in this month's JLPGA orientation session in Chiba? Everybody's gotta participate, no exceptions!

And to think if I had known about it, I could have finished my grading early and packed the family off to visit the in-laws on the off-chance we might bump into Shin, Seon Hwa Lee, Candie Kung, Inbee Park, or some other '10 JLPGAer in downtown Chiba!

1 comment:

Average Golfer said...

Ji-Yai seems like a genuinely nice "kid". Anyone younger than me is a kid. Aside from her obvious talent she has a sparkle in her expression that suggests she's grateful to be where she's at.