At a press conference on Wednesday, Jenny Shin spoke about the importance of her mental game and her focus on regaining her driving accuracy. She said that she felt like she turned a corner.
Her play at the Volunteers of America® LPGA Texas Classic is proving it to the world.
After torrential rains and winds caused officials to shorten the event to a cut-free, 36-hole tournament, Shin ended her first round tied for the lead with Sung Hyun Park at -6.
Staying loose with almost two days of waiting is difficult already, but, Shin’s bogey-free round one performance is particularly impressive, considering she spent the first nine-hour delay on Thursday waiting in her car.
You read right. In her car.
“I didn’t know I was that patient, either. But, I didn’t have an umbrella, so, I didn’t have a choice,” Shin said. “I mean, the wind was blowing at 30 miles-per-hour, and it (the rain) was coming down, and I had no guts to step out of the car.”
She passed the time documenting her dilemma on Instagram and rocking out.
“I had the music on full blast. Nobody could hear me. So, it was actually a good time,” she said.
When the weather finally cleared late Friday afternoon, the greens at Old American Golf Club were soft, and the wind came to a standstill, which is why the initial scores were lower than originally anticipated on this course. Shin finished 14 holes before play was halted for the evening, and completed the remaining four holes of her first round Saturday morning.
“Yesterday’s conditions were absolutely flawless,” said Shin, who is a big fan of links-style courses, like Old American. “They set up the golf course as if it was prepared for a 30 mile-per-hour wind, so it was much easier than what we expected. A lot of holes were shorter than I thought, so I went for the pin. It turned out great.”
Because of the abbreviated format, round two of the tournament teed up late Saturday afternoon around 3:30 p.m.; round one completed play at 5:30 p.m. When play was called for the day, Nicole Broch Larson of Denmark, Aditi Ashok of India and Gaby Lopez of Mexico were tied with Shin and Hyun Park at -6. Larson has four more holes of her second and final round to play; Aditi Ashok has four holes remaining and Gaby Lopez has seven.
Both Shin and Park will play their 18-hole final rounds tomorrow.
With a 36-hole tournament and so many great players within striking distance of the win, there’s no way to predict how this already-unpredictable stop on the LPGATour will play out. But, one thing is for sure, it will be a competition worth watching.
