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By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 26 (Yonhap) -- Jenny Shin captured her first LPGA title in 10 years on Sunday in Scotland.

Shin claimed a two-stroke victory over her fellow South Korean Kim A-lim at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire, with a four-round total of nine-under 279. Shin, whose Korean birth name is Ji-eun, took a five-stroke lead into the final round at 12-under and shot a three-over 75 on Sunday for her second career LPGA victory and a winner's check of US$300,000.

Shin's only previous LPGA win had come at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout in May 2016.

Shin is the fourth South Korean player to win on the LPGA Tour this year, joining Lee Mi-hyang, Kim Hyo-joo and Ryu Hae-ran. Lee has one victory, while Kim and Ryu have each won twice.

Shin, 33, is also the first wire-to-wire winner on the tour since Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship in April. This was also the first time in Shin's LPGA career that she led or co-led for the first three rounds of a tournament.

Through three rounds, Shin had the most birdies and the fewest bogeys in the field, with 15 and three, respectively.

Over the past 15 LPGA seasons, players who led by five or more strokes through 54 holes have gone 21-for-23 converting those leads into victories.

Shin is the first LPGA player to go at least 10 years between victories since Vicki Fergon, who won a tournament in 1984 and again in 1996.

Shin's lead grew to eight strokes after just two holes in the final round, with Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand, who was alone in second place through three rounds, going bogey-double bogey to start the final round. Shin held steady by making par on each of her first five holes.

But then Shin hit a snag with three straight bogeys, starting at the par-3 sixth, and her lead shrunk to just two strokes at the turn, with Anannarukarn having reeled off four birdies after her disastrous start.

Shin bounced back with a birdie at the 10th to reach 10-under, now four clear of the field with Anannarukarn bogeying the same hole.

In a group right in front of Shin's, Kim made a charge up the leaderboard. She picked up four straight birdies, beginning at the ninth hole, to reach seven-under, putting her three shots back of Shin in second place.

Shin went back up by four thanks to a birdie at the 12th. Kim lost steam down the stretch, unable to make a birdie over her final six holes, and Shin stayed in front the rest of the way.

Shin bogeyed two of her last three holes, including the par-5 18th, but it did not ultimately affect the outcome.

jeeho@yna.co.kr

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