Lydia Ko showers praise on AIG Women's Open leader Jiyai Shin- "I don't know if there's a single place on Planet Earth that she has not dominated in"

South Korean Jiyai Shin is leading the LPGA AIG Women's Open at the St. Andrew's Links (Old Course) in Scotland. In the three rounds Shin has played till now, she carded a score of 71-71-67 to surge ahead of Lilia Vu and Nelly Korda, who are in second and third place, respectively.

After the conclusion of the third round, Jiyai Shin received praise from the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal winner, Lydia Ko. In a press conference, Ko was asked if the young players looking at the leaderboard knew how much Shin has accomplished in her career, to which she responded (via ASAP Sport):

"She has played all three of the Women's Open here, which is crazy. She was trying to persuade me to play golf for a really long time, and I was like, I'm good. But no, what she's done is amazing. She played in Korea and then came over here as world No. 1, went back to Japan, dominated there. 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. But I'm sure for some players, they may not be as familiar with her name or just her just because she might have gone back to Japan before they came on tour," Lydia Ko said.

Further, Lydia Ko reassured that the majority of the world knows who Jiyai Shin is, and also remarked that she feels "fortunate" to play tour golf alongside Shin, recalling their final round at the CPKC Women's Open in Vancouver in 2012, which was won by Ko.

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Lydia Ko also commented on Jiyai Shin's decision to give up her LPGA Tour card

Jiyai Shin joined the LPGA Tour in 2009 and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. Between 2009 and 2013, Shin registered 11 victories on the LPGA Tour, including the Women's Open in 2008 and 2012. However, in 2014, Shin decided to give up her LPGA Tour card to play in the LPGA Tour of Japan, much to the surprise of golf fans worldwide.

Shin cited 'change' as the reason behind giving up her LPGA Tour card. During the aforementioned press conference, Lydia Ko was asked about her thoughts on Shin's decision, to which she said:

"I think it's very courageous because she was still playing great. She had multiple wins on the LPGA, and it's without a doubt that the LPGA is the biggest field and the highest competition for women's golf right now. For her to go Japan where it's closer to Korea, I don't think it's an easy move because you're almost going back to like where you started. But I'm sure it didn't take her, you know, falling asleep and waking the next day and go, I'm going to play on the JLPGA. There's a lot of thought in everything that she put behind it."

On the LPGA Tour of Japan, Jiyai Shin replicated the same dominance she displayed on the LPGA Tour. In total, Shin has chalked up 64 victories as a pro, with 30 of those coming on the JLPGA Tour.