SHANSHAN WANTS RIVALS TO SHOW MERCY AS SHE EYES HATTRICK
Shanshan wants rivals to show mercy as she eyes hattrick
WORLD No. 6 Feng Shanshan never fails to cheer everyone up with her bubbly personality.
On Tuesday, the 28-year-old from China jokingly asked her rivals – including world No. 1 Ryu So-yeon of South Korea and No. 5 Anna Nordqvist of Sweden – at the press conference if they would make it easy for her to defend the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia crown this week.
“I wish the other girls would give me a chance (to win). Thank you,” said the seven-time LPGA Tour winner as everyone at the press conference burst into laughter.
Frankly, it’s Shanshan who needs to show them mercy at the TPC Kuala Lumpur, which is her favourite hunting ground.
The 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medallist enters this week’s tournament with a fearsome reputation.
Besides reclaiming the title she last bagged in 2014 to become the tournament’s first multiple winner, Shanshan also finished second in 2013 and 2015. She also boasts an impressive total of 64-under at the par-71 East Course in those four outings.
“During the prize ceremony last year, I was like ‘can I get a membership card here?’ Because I play so well here,” she said.
“Every time I lose confidence, maybe this is where I should come back and play and try to get my confidence back.”
Shanshan also tends to peak towards the end of the season and that’s something the other title hopefuls should be wary of as well.
Last year, Shanshan finished in the top 10 in all six of the “Asian Swing”, including back-toback wins in the LPGA Malaysia and Japan Classic.
“Maybe I’m what they call in Chinese ‘man re’ (slow starter). I always start slow before stepping up a gear as it progresses,” she said.
“Maybe also it’s because I’m Asian, it’s like coming home. Even here in Malaysia, I like it a lot because there are many people who speak Chinese.”
Shanshan also hopes to make it another outing to remember in Malaysia to mark her six-year partnership with caddie Mercer Leftwich.
Leftwich, in fact, has “won” the LPGA Malaysia three times as he was on Kang Ji-min’s bag when the South Korean captured the inaugural title in 2010.
“The reason I’ve won is because of him,” admitted Shanshan.
“His record is better than mine because he’s won three times here and I’ve only won twice!
“We actually met here. This is the first tournament he started working for me. So this tournament is very special for us. Winning a tournament is a great way to celebrate our anniversary.”
Besides So-yeon and Nordqvist, Shanshan will be also challenged by the likes of world No. 2 Park Sung-hyun and No. 4 Chun In-gee and two former world No. 1s – Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.
World No. 35 American Jessica Korda, who won in 2015, is the other past winner in the fray.
Forty-three of the world’s top 50 golfers will be competing in the 78-woman field of the LPGA Malaysia.