Pay attention, Shin makes quite an impression

Or to identify a strength, for that matter.

"I don't know what the best part of her game is," Webb laughed.

Webb says she rarely watches other players hit tee shots because she doesn't like to see balls flying into bad spots on the course a moment before she hits her own tee balls, but should have changed that approach Sunday.

"I could have watched her all day," Webb said. "I don't think she missed the middle of the fairway."

Shin never stopped smiling, either, as she piled on the pressure with a series of laser-beam shots. Earlier in the year, she picked up the nickname "Chalk Line" because she hits it so straight, although "Chalk Outline" might be more apt, given the circles she draws around her expired foes.

"I think, 'It is a simple game,'" said Shin, who had eight wins this year in Korea and Japan. "Just hit fairway, just hit green, just make putt."

Harmon, Leadbetter and Haney just swallowed their tongues.

After torching the Korean LPGA Tour this year -- she became the first player to win the tour's three-event Grand Slam of majors -- Shin won the Women's British Open in August to collect her first major major, if you will. She won the LPGA's Mizuno Classic two weeks ago in Japan. She had climbed to No. 6 in the world rankings entering this week, the only player in the top dozen who isn't a regular on the LPGA circuit.

In other words, you really had to be paying attention to have noticed her ascent. Plus, a more unassuming champion would be hard to locate. Shin is built like a tree stump, wears glasses and looks like she's about 15 years old.

Young or not, she seemingly has grasped what she's already accomplished in such a short pro career, quickly climbing the ladder from the Korean and Japanese tours to the big leagues.

"Before the year, I had only won in Korea," she said. "I can't believe (it). Last year, I'm watching the TV for LPGA tour. So, exciting."

Webb had an earlier glimpse than most at Shin, whom she defeated in a playoff for the Australian Open title in February.

"I'm glad I got one before she got going," Webb cracked. "She is going to be a quality player."

For the record, Shin made her first ripple in the States two years ago when she contended at the U.S. Women's Open, when everybody was pronouncing her first name as Gee-Eye. It's more accurately pronounced like reading aloud the initials G.A.

Apart from her name, you're likely to hear the story many times about her emotional background. When she was 15 and practicing at a Korean golf course, her mother was killed in a car accident that left her younger brother and sister hospitalized for months. Shin said she will spend part of her brief offseason -- she'll have made a staggering 37 worldwide starts in 2008 -- looking for a house in the States.

Some place big enough for her father, brother and sister to come, too.

"So, I need big house," she smiled.

Based on her Sunday paycheck and seemingly unlimited upside, she can afford one.

"I think when she comes over here, she'll be a great threat," said American star Paula Creamer, who finished tied for third. "She's very humble. You'd never know what she has done over in Korea."

Looks like we're about to find out.