The most prestigious award for any women golfer who is into her first year at the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Tour is the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award which every single woman golfer dreams of winning. Year 2009 was expected to be one of the most competitive for the women professional golfers as there were many upcoming stars who were enjoying their rookie year. With consistent performance which was not only miles ahead of her rookie companions but was also of the absolute top notch quality Jiyai Shin was always the shoo in and this Monday’s announcement was only an official confirmation of the fact that she is the best when she was named the Rookie of the Year for 2009 for the US circuit. Though this trophy had practically become hers a long time ago during the season, yet the official announcement was a moment of joy and a moment to be remembered for ever for the remarkable golf player.

Jiyai Shin is only 21 years of age and belongs to South Korea. She had made her debut in the Korean Ladies Professional League when she was studying in high school and since then has gone to achieve higher and bigger things in the golfing world. She moved on to play outside her native country and entered the highly competitive world of LPGA which is always very difficult for any player. But Jiyai Shin showed tremendous ability to do the unthinkable and made sure that she performed right at the top consistently to not only be the best among the golfers who had made their debut but also among the well established and experienced players on the LPGA Tour.

Jiyai Shin’s remarkable run at the LPGA Tour has brought her to the top of the Rolex Rankings with even the Rolex Player of Year trophy well within her grasp. Though that dream is yet to be realized she has definitely got the one for her and quite comfortable too. She has performed well throughout the year with many top ten finishes. As a matter of fact even while competing against some of the most respectable names in the history of women golf she was able to hold on to her own and notched up three victories on the LPGA Tour. She won the HSBC Women’s Champions, she followed it up with the trophy at Wegmans LPGA and rounded up with Arkansas Championship, her third win of the 2009 season.  Her total earnings for the season are nearing $2 million and she has amassed 141 points to be the leader at the Rolex Player of the Year table.

Jiyai Shin has won the Rolex Rookie of the Year award after collecting 1,406 points from the LPGA Tour and has been so dominating that her nearest rival Michelle Wie only has 764 points to make it a no contest for the eventual winner. Her performance quite amply demonstrates the spirit of Rolex and its philosophy of promoting human brilliance through the various platforms it offers to athletes and sportspersons by sponsoring tours like the LPGA Tour.

Lorena Ochoa bagged her 27th career LPGA win came on a day when the rain gods looked like they were about to spoil the day with their generosity. The location of the historic win for the title defender couldn’t have been more apt for Lorena Ochoa. The golfer had bagged her previous title on the same course and this year too the 6,546 yard Senator Course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail served the site of another historic win for Lorena Ochoa.

The golfer sported a determination and an understanding of the game that had from the very start decided where her game was headed and it came as no surprise when the golfer’s immense patience paid off in the form of a victory. The current number one ranked female in world golf is also the first Mexican of either gender to be ranked number one in the world. Starting out as a junior who had bagged 22 state events in Guadalajara and a spate of 44 national events in Mexico alone, the player went on to win consecutive titles for five years at the Junior World Golf Championships.

Lorena Ochoa has been the proud recipient of Mexico’s National Sports Award and is also the only golfer and youngest at that to have won this accolade. She also has to her credit the Nancy Lopez Award which is awarded on an annual basis to the world’s most outstanding female amateur golfer. The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year won her first Rolex sponsored LPGA IN 2004 winning both the Franklin American Mortgage Championship and the Wachovia LPGA Classic. It was however the year 2007 that made Lorena Ochoa’s dream of becoming the world’s number one female golfer came true.

Everything about the event was the same as last year, the crowd, the enthusiasm, her determination, her craft at the game, yet unlike the playoff situation which Lorena had to face the last year, this year the player avoided a similar scratch, took a three stroke lead and made it four by the end of the game. The pro golfer who has not only created records, but also broken them, broke her own record this time when she won the 18-under-par 270 beating her record of a score of 15 under par that she had scored in 2008.

Lorena Ochoa’s game looked like it was steering towards a bad patch and might have been a disappointment for the player. The opening five holes for the player which included a bogey on the second hole, a birdie on the fourth, that was accompanied by a double bogey on the par 5 and a 517 yard fifth hole that followed an unplayable tee shot.

Rolex has associated itself with events that celebrate the spirit of a game in a manner that is not only extremely professional but also creates a challenge for people participating in the game to put out the best of their careers every time that they go out to play. Rolex sponsors the LPGA event because the event is not only about golf- playing which some of the most masterly set of skills are required but also because LPGA is a name associated with class and an extreme involvement with punctuality.

Golfing is a one of the first few sports that allowed women into its fold and they in turn propelled this game to a higher standard. Participation of women on such a grand scale would hardly have been possible had it not been for the unfaltering support of brands like Rolex. Apart from being hailed as the forerunner of the watch world, Rolex has developed the idea of promoting excellence on a global scale by sponsoring a number of sporting events like golf. Rolex has played a pivotal role in the United States and promoted a number of golfing events for women through collaboration with several organizations. In a bid to provide greater opportunity to women in all spheres of activity, Rolex ensures that due recognition and award is bestowed on talented women golfers. One of the several associations Rolex has tied up with is the LPGA or the Ladies Professional Golf Association. The LPGA in association with Rolex has been instrumental in reshaping the careers of many golfers from around the world.

Women golfers from as far away as Korea come to the events created by the LPGA in order to claim the top prize and win recognition for their respective country. Over the years not only have the LPGA events become sought after in the world of golf but have also become proving grounds for talented women to prove their mettle in the game. The incredible rise in popularity as well as the astronomical prize money offered has proved to be beneficial for the game. The whole purpose of creating world class events is to give greater opportunity to women to develop both as golfers and as humans. The LPGA stage has given rise to stars like Jiyai Shin one of the most incredible golfing talents in the sport today. Putting forward an exceptional set of golfing skills Jiyai Shin has given a number of players a run of their money. Driving the ball with such precision and force, Jiyai Shin stuns even hard line critics who watch in awe as the ball soars through the air to land almost near the hole.

Earning a total of $1,605,786 this season, Jiyai Shin won three tournaments this year in the golfing tournaments. Ranked as the second best player in the women’s golf category, Jiyai Shin has always managed to secure a place in the top ten finishes. Pushing the boundaries of performance through a combination of skill, acumen and foresight, Jiyai Shin has made quite a mark in the world of golf. Leading the standings for both the Rolex Player of the Year as well at the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, Jiyai Shin is definitely a force to be reckoned with. In the Rolex Player of the Year standings she is leading the race with a total of 136 points while in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year she is way ahead with a total of 1344 which is almost double that of her closest competitor.

From Korea to the world, Jiyai Shin has been giving brilliant performances at a number of golfing tournaments across the globe and apart from stunning the crowd with her immense tactical playability; she has also been the source of inspiration to many aspiring women golfers.

The philosophy behind the support that Rolex renders to multiple events including woman’s golf is to ensure that virtues like human ambition, will power, tireless hard work and single minded dedication can be offered sufficient opportunities for unbridled growth. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in the world of golf is involved in running numerous golfing tournaments for female professional golfers across the world. Rolex has been actively assisting the Florida based organization in ensuring that the purpose behind LPGA as well as Rolex’s own values can be served in the best possible manner.

The year 2009 is turning out to be one of the most exciting in the history of LPGA and a major reason for that has been one player who has managed to outshine others achievements by long margins. Jiyai Shin is not only a rising star but the way she plays and what she has achieved so far makes her perhaps one of the most promising players to have ever played golf. The 1988 born South Korean player has done so many amazing things in a short career that to some all this might seem like a dream. She started off by winning her first KLPGA event in 2005 as an amateur while she was still in her high school. In 2007 she played in 19 events of KLPGA and won a staggering 10 out of them. In fact she has practically broken all KLPGA records. In 2008 she entered the LPGA Tour but only as a non-member and surprised everyone by picking three trophies including prestigious Women’s British Open. Winning the very first of these qualified her for the LPGA membership for the upcoming season, 2009.

Taking forward her achievements, Jiyai Shin has done tremendously well for herself in her rookie year at the LPGA as a member. With a slight shaky start at the beginning of the season she caught up fast and went to win her third event of the year, HSBC Women’s Champions. What has followed throughout the year so far and is likely to for the rest of the year was one of the rarest performances by a female golfer in the LPGA history in her rookie year.

With many finishes among the top she also won Wegmans LPGA cup and the recently concluded P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship. This level of unprecedented success has pulled her to super stardom and she all set to end the year on a high which no one has witnessed so far. By the end of last weekend she had won as much as $1,498,861 in prize money through the 19 event she participated in which she enjoyed a top 10 finish in 7 of them. The end result of that has put her at the top of the money list so far this season.

Also, she has earned good 127 points to be ahead of everyone in the race to the top of the Rolex Player of the Year trophy. Being a rookie and such marvelous performances has all but ensured her the coveted Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. With 1,269 points she is miles ahead of her nearest rival Michelle Wie who is placed second with 684 points.

When Jiyai Shin goes on to win these multiple Rolex awards, it would a suitable tribute to the game of golf and the support Rolex ensures for promoting the game.

The association that began almost an epoch ago, standing the test of time, adapting yet resolute, started out when Rolex presented the legendary Arnold Palmer with a gold Oyster Perpetual Rolex watch, in honor of his remarkable achievements on the greens in 1967. Celebrating the exceptional ability and performance of golfing greats like Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, Rolex began its unfaltering support of these great golfers and soon ventured out to support a number of organizing committees in creating and sponsoring eminent golfing tournaments. The core ambition has always been to support events that promote the passion of attaining the highest forms of human capacity. Understanding the focus and resilience that is required to master the sport of golf, Rolex assists various golfing bodies around the world in propounding the sport and its players. More than the game itself Rolex propagates the idea and the inspiration behind the sport that forms the crucial core of comprehending the ability of pushing the standards of human endeavor. Even though the game of golf has undergone tremendous changes and incorporated various elements that have propelled it to great heights of popularity, one factor that remains unchanged is the steadfast support of Rolex in supporting the game.

Beginning in 1978 Rolex pioneered the sponsorship of golfing events by aiding the British Open Championship right after which it forged a partnership with the United States Golf Association (USGA). Abiding with its principal of supporting exceptionally talented individuals Rolex sought out to promote women’s golf and soon formed a partnership with the LGPA. Additionally Rolex brought out the Rolex Player of the Year, the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and the Rolex First-Time Winners in order to honor and promote the ability of talented women golfers. The most recent development in this partnership is the launching of the Rolex Women’s Rankings that combines women golfers everywhere into one single entity. Apart from all of this Rolex is also the official timekeeper for the prestigious women’s golf tournament, the Solheim Cup.

Supporting the Ryder Cup men’s golfing challenge for many years now Rolex also became the official timepiece at the PGA of America, and the official timekeeper for the men’s European Tour. From 2008 onwards Rolex entered into an international collaboration with the Master’s Tournament and assists this eminent tournament by looking after all the broadcast and print media outside the United States that deals with this event. Supporting young golfing talent for two decades now, Rolex has been sponsoring the American Junior Golfers Association (AJGA) for more than 25 years now. Annually hosting the Rolex Tournament of Champions as well as the Rolex Girl’s Championship, Rolex ensures that remarkable talent has a platform to showcase their talent and further develop their skill. Rolex also presents the Rolex Player of the Year Awards and the Rolex All-America Teams awards, which is an effort to honor the talent of these young talents and propel their ambitious vision. Involving itself in all aspects of the sport of golfing, Rolex serves as a publishing partner for the Rules of Golf booklet and also supports the official film and annual tournament of each U.S. Open Championship. Apart from this Rolex provides on-line support to the USGA as well as supplying tee clocks at National Championships and supporting the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History at the USGA Museum.

Unfazed by the change Rolex continues to support illustrious golfing events around the world and promotes remarkable ability in their quest to definitive triumph.