“I couldn’t find any next step. I needed a change, so that’s why I moved,” said Ji-Yai Shin when asked about her move to Japan. The former World No. 1 lost her mother in a car accident when she was 16 YO. She not only moved back to Japan, but also gave up her LPGA membership, and joined the JLPGA ahead of the 2014 season. She has won at least once on that tour every year since except for 2022 and this year.

Shin is currently aiming for her third Women’s Open this year and is doing well at it. The 36 YO is enjoying a one-stroke lead at St. Andrews ahead of Lilia Vu. She has been an inspiration for a lot of female golfers, which also includes 2024 Olympics champion Lydia Ko. When asked about her move, Ko sheds light on the significant presence of the LPGA Pro in the world of golf.

Shin first reached world No. 1 in 2010, a year after her first full season on the main LPGA, and spent a total of 25 weeks in three stints atop the world rankings. She also had a great stretch in Japan, and now, as she is back in Scotland, the Korean Pro has once again taken the limelight. Taking to this, Ko said, “I don’t know if there’s a single place on Planet Earth that she has not dominated in, which is pretty crazy to say.”

However, her move to the JLPGA has made her pretty much unknown to the golf world. Lydia Ko played together with Ji-Yai Shin at the final round of the 2012 CPKC Women’s Open, where Shin tied for a T3 at 8-under par. Ko had won the event with a 3-stroke victory. Reminiscing the shared time on course, Ko added, “I feel fortunate to be able to play some tour golf with her.” However, Lydia Ko is not an advocate for playing golf for so long. The 27 YO had earlier stated that she wished to walk out of the game with her head held high.

She sure would retire before 30. But watching Shin play even at the age of 36 is something she would not want to do. “I don’t know if I would want to do a 6.30 practice round, because she did on Tuesday or Monday; and she is still in the gym working out when I was working out. I think that takes not only a lot of work ethic but passion towards the game in what she does,” she concluded, appreciating one of her greatest role models in the field of golf.

Jiyai Shin achieved early success in her career. This included 21 wins on the KPMG Tour, 11 wins on the LPGA tour, and also grabbing the No. 1 position in Women’s Golf for 25 weeks. As the glamour followed, back in 2013, she stated that she lost passion and hunger to continue playing on the tour, because she had already achieved it all. That was when she decided to give her LPGA Tour card.

Lydia Ko calls Jiyai Shin courageous

Pretty much like the PGA Tour, the LPGA is considered the best league to be able to demonstrate women’s golf skills. Grabbing the membership card is one of the sole aims for every amateur, and well, Shin dropped it despite having it in her prime, prioritizing other things. This is something that Ko says she would not risk, and thus she thinks it was a very courageous thing for her to do.

Going to Japan from playing on the LPGA Tour is pretty much like a demotion. It makes all the struggle to reach on top insignificant. This simply is not a decision she would take overnight. “But I think it’s just very courageous because most of the time, we always looking forward and see what we’ve done in the past and think that, oh, like what if I do this and I can be back to when I was No. 1 but she made the decision that she thought was right for her and I mean, look what she’s done,” added Ko.

Do you think Jiyai Shin did the right thing by giving up her LPGA card? Let us know in the comments section below!