IJGA alumna Shanshan Feng won her seventh career LPGA tournament at the Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan this Sunday. Shanshan won by two-strokes over Minjee Lee and set a new 72-hole tournament scoring record finishing at 20-under par. Feng finished all four rounds under 70.
“I’m really happy to have this win because I’ve had six wins on the LPGA so far but only two in the U.S.,” Feng said after her victory. “I’m really happy that I’m not only playing well in Asia but also in the U.S.”
After a stellar season in 2016 that saw Shanshan claim titles at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and the Toto Japan Classic as well as a bronze medal at the Olympic games in Rio,
her 2017 campaign got off to a bit of a slow start. After making some adjustments Feng notched two top-ten finishes in her starts preceding the Volvik Championship and with the win there moved up to fifth in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Second place finisher Minjee Lee made a strong run at Feng’s lead late in the final round making five birdies in a six-hole stretch, but Shanshan remained steady and never gave up her top spot. “I had no idea about the others’ scores, other than my playing partners, so I was maybe assuming somebody in front of me maybe would have a super low round and maybe would catch me,” Feng said. “So, I had no idea, I was just focusing on my own game and own plan.”
After her win, Shanshan spoke about her determination to push her game to the highest level. “I think overall I’ve been a very consistent player and I”ve had many, many top-5s, top-10s in my career so far, but I want to win more. I think that’s why I actually started to win more tournaments, because I don’t want to just make top-10s, I want to win tournaments.”
Feng is the first player from China to become a member of the LPGA Tour and is also the first player from mainland China, male or female, to win a major championship, the Wegmans LPGA Championship in 2012. Feng earned her way onto the LPGA Tour in her first attempt at qualifying school in 2008.
Shanshan Feng, pictured here, during her time at IJGA.