By She will begin playing the US LPGA Tour full time in 2009.
Korean LPGA golfer Shin Ji-yai is looking to secure a new sponsorship deal.
She had been supported by Hi-mart for three years until the contract was terminated last year after the Korean electronics company failed to meet the more than 1 billion won demands from her former agent Tee Golf Studio, according to a local media report.
Shin, 20, now has a new agent, Sema Sports Marketing, the same company that represents fellow LPGA player Pak Se-ri.
Given that no deal is yet in place, she looks likely to take part in the ANZ Ladies Masters wearing a sponsor-less cap. The tournament is to be held at the Royal Pines Gold Course on the Gold Coast, Australia, on Feb. 5.- Korea Times
First of all the last paragraph makes little sense. Sponsor or no sponsor, Shin was going to play in Australia. It doesn’t look likely, it’s a fact.
As for Shin demanding 1 billion won from Hi Mart, who knows if that is true or not. GI here has shown unreliable the Korean media can be. LPGA players have difficulty obtaining and keeping sponsors, even for the best players. That Shin would run into the same difficulty shouldn’t be surprising.
On a side note, the LPGA Ginn Open which was won by Mi Hyun ‘Peanut’ Kim in 2006,’ is no more. If you want to read my lengthy commentary on that debacle, click here.
12:40 pm on January 29th, 2009 1
Shin is a rising star in the LPGA world. She should look for a non-Korean sponsor in my opinion – I think she is one of the few who could get one: she's a top player, she speaks English well, and she's only 20 (so she'll be around for a while).I hate to say it…….but her looks might be the only thing that would hold her back from really hitting the jackpot in terms of sponsorship. It's unfair as it basically isn't a factor in the PGA…….but it's a reality of the LPGA.
12:57 am on January 30th, 2009 2
hey, I completely agree with you non-Korean sponsor would certainly be the best fit for her, she has to go for it now!