Japanese media hail Shin Ji-yai as 'living legend' and 'role model for Japanese golf'

Shin Ji-yai, 38, claimed the title at the 59th Japan Women's Open — a major on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour — to record her 30th career JLPGA victory and become the first player in history to complete a career grand slam on the tour. Japan's major daily newspapers and golf media outlets splashed the win across their front pages and online homepages, calling it "an unprecedented milestone and a great landmark in the history of Japanese women's golf."

Japanese media focused on the dramatic finish of the final round held Sunday at Takarazuka Golf Club in Hyogo Prefecture. Starting the day two strokes off the lead in second place, Shin carded five birdies to finish at 11-under par, drawing level with AIG Women's Open champion Kuwaki Shiho, 23, and forcing a playoff.

The contest was decided on the third playoff hole at the par-4 18th, where Shin calmly sank a birdie putt from about 4.5 meters to the right of the pin, ending the long battle.

Golf Digest Online broke the news immediately after the round under the headline "Shin Ji-yai in tears after becoming first to win all four domestic majors — edges out Kuwaki in grueling battle," writing that "her flawless shot-making and veteran composure shone through even in the wind and rain."

The outlet also reported in detail on Shin's remarks in the post-round official interview. "I have never cried after winning before, but I am truly happy this time," she said. "I proved that I can still win."

Major sports dailies including Nikkan Sports and Sports Hochi focused on the institutional and historical significance of the victory. The win gave Shin her 30th JLPGA Tour title, fully satisfying the requirements for a lifetime exemption — only the seventh in tour history and the first since Fudo Yuri in 2004, a gap of 22 years.

Local media paid tribute to Shin's consistency over more than a decade since she shifted her primary base to the Japanese tour in 2014, having recorded her first win there in 2008 at the Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies. Sankei Sports wrote that "a player who reached world No. 1 through the Korean and American tours dedicated herself to the Japanese tour and finally reached the highest honor," adding that she "cleared the formidable barrier of 30 wins — a wall even domestic players have struggled to scale — through rigorous self-discipline."

The victory completed the first career grand slam in JLPGA Tour history, with Shin sweeping all four official major championships: the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, the JLPGA Championship, the Japan Women's Open and the Tour Championship Ricoh Cup. It is an achievement that eluded even Japan's own golfing legends — Higuchi Hisako, Okamoto Ayako and Fudo Yuri — across more than half a century of Japanese women's golf.

Japanese media gave nearly as much attention to Shin's demeanor and sportsmanship as to the record itself. Sports Navi highlighted an anecdote in which Shin ate an onigiri (rice ball) before the playoff to keep her energy up, maintaining remarkable calm, and then spotlighted the moment she embraced her opponent Kuwaki Shiho — 15 years her junior — to console her immediately after the win was confirmed.

In her interview, Shin credited her opponent, the course and the gallery. "Because Kuwaki played so brilliantly, I was able to stay focused until the very end," she said. "I am grateful to have played alongside her." Local media called it "a moment that showed not just a winner, but the dignity of a true champion," saying Shin's refusal to lose respect for the game even in fierce cross-generational competition left a deep impression on Japanese golf.

American media also gave the achievement prominent coverage, framing it as "the crowning glory of a living legend who wrote her story on every stage in the world" and "a feat that reaffirms her Hall of Fame credentials."

Golf Week and Golf Digest, among others, paid tribute to the journey that saw Shin — a former world No. 1 and two-time major champion (British Women's Open, 2008 and 2012) — maintain her game at the highest level after leaving the American circuit and returning to Asia, ultimately reaching 30 JLPGA wins and an unprecedented sweep of four majors.

American outlets also revisited Shin's cumulative victory record across the KLPGA, LPGA, JLPGA, Ladies European Tour and Australian tours, praising her as the holder of one of the greatest all-time win rates in women's golf worldwide — a singular career built without settling for any single regional circuit.

They also highlighted her clutch ability and steely concentration in holding off a playoff against a player in her 20s while in her late 30s, saying she had once again proved herself the most complete short-game player and fiercest competitor in world golf.