Diminutive South Korean Ji-Yai Shin was walking tall after a superb two-stroke victory from Australian Katherine Hull at the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament in Singapore on Sunday.
Seven adrift at halfway and still six behind with a round to go at Tanah Merah, the 20-year-old British Women’s Open champion took the title with her second successive 66 for an 11 under total of 277. Hull had started the final round with a two-shot advantage thanks partly to a final-hole birdie in the third round Shin, who collected $300,000 for her latest triumph, birdied the first four holes and then picked up further strokes on the 11th and 15th to put the pressure on her big rival. “I’m very surprised and very happy. My goal coming into the tournament was just to make the top 10,” Shin told media. “I can’t believe I started with four birdies, but I was just feeling very comfortable. I made a birdie on the 15th and she double bogeyed and that made me more determined.” Hull was four clear after turning in 34, but followed a bogey on the 10th by going out of bounds and running up herdouble bogey seven three holes later. She dropped another stroke on the next, but a birdie at the 17th left her needing another to force a play-off. Instead, the Australian Masters champion bogeyed for a disappointing 74. Americans Paula Creamer and Angela Stanford finished a further stroke away along with Brazil’s Angela Park who lived to regret her second round 76. World number one and defending champion Lorena Ochoa, winner by 11 last year, finished with a 70 and 281 total.
