IRVING, Texas — Jenny Shin won the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory, pulling away for a two-stroke victory at Las Colinas.
Making her 135th tour start, Shin closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 14-under 270. 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-5 10th. She closed with eight pars, the last an up-and-down save from right of the green on the par-5 18th.
She’s projected to jump from 38th to 24th in the world ranking.
Fifth-ranked Brooke Henderson closed with a 71 to tie for 19th at 3 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 1 under. Karah Sanford, a 14-year-old high school freshman from San Diego, tied for 51st at 6 over after a 77.
