Shanshan Feng (Chinese: 冯珊珊; pinyin: Féng Shān Shān, Mandarin pronunciation: [fə̌ŋ ʂə́ŋ ʂə́ŋ]; born 5 August 1989) is a Chinese former professional golfer who previously played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She was the first player from China to become a member of the LPGA Tour, which she joined in 2008. Feng had 10 victories on the tour, including the 2012 LPGA Championship, a major title, in which she shot a bogey-free 67 in the final round to win by two strokes.[2] She was the first player from China to win an LPGA major championship, as well as the first player from mainland China (male or female) to have won a major championship.[3][4] Her best finish in 16 previous majors was a tie for 22nd at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship.[5][6] With the victory, she moved from tenth to fifth in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[7] On 20 August 2016, Feng won the Olympic bronze medal in women's golf at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[8] From November 2017 to April 2018, she was first in the Women's World Golf Rankings.[9]

Shanshan Feng
Feng at the 2009 LPGA Championship.
Personal information
NicknameJenny[1]
Born (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 35)
Guangzhou, China
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Sporting nationality China
Career
Turned professional2007
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 2008)
Ladies European Tour
Professional wins23
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour10
Ladies European Tour7
LPGA of Japan Tour7
Other1
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 1)
Chevron ChampionshipT3: 2021
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 2012
U.S. Women's OpenT4: 2012, 2021
Women's British OpenT2: 2014
Evian ChampionshipT2: 2019
Achievements and awards
Ladies European Tour
Order of Merit
2015
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Golf

In August 2022, Feng announced her retirement from professional golf.[10][11][12][13]

Early life, family and early golf development

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2009 Women's British Open

Feng was born in Guangzhou, in the province of Guangdong,[14] and started playing golf at age 10 at the urging of her father, Feng Xiong, who worked at the golf association in their hometown.[15][16][17][18]

Due to limited resources and a lack of reputable golf coaches, Feng's father, who was the captain of a junior golf team, worked with her every day.[19] During the week, Feng would attend school from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and then her father would bring her to the driving range where she would practice for two hours hitting golf balls off a mat.[19] On the weekends, she travelled outside of the city to a local course to play practice rounds and work on her short game.[19]

When Feng was in high school an agent discovered her, at a tournament in China, and this led to her meeting coach Gary Gilchrist.[19] When Feng was 17 years old, Gilchrist offered her a full scholarship to attend his junior golf academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina.[19] Feng accepted the offer and moved to the U.S. hoping to become a professional golfer.[19] Despite the scholarship to Gilchrist's academy, living expenses, tuition at a nearby high school, and traveling costs became heavy financial burdens on her parents, Feng Xiong and Zheng Yuyan, who both work at governmental institutes and earn average salaries.[20] Feng's parents had spent almost all of their savings by the end of 2007, and they considered mortgaging their house to support their daughter.[20] However, the family support paid off in December 2007 when Feng, a teenager amateur, earned a spot on the LPGA Tour's 2008 season after tying for ninth place at the Tour's qualifying tournament.[20]

Amateur career

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Feng won the China Junior Championship and the China Junior Open in 2004. She was a three-time winner of the China Amateur Tournament (2004–06).[21] She was the Champion of the 2006 China Women's Amateur Open.[21] A member of the 2006 All-China Championship Team, she earned a medalist honors at the event.[21] In 2007 she was named Golfweeks's Top Chinese Amateur after winning four tournaments on the International Junior Golf Tour (IIGT) in 2007.[21]

While still an amateur, Feng tied for ninth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in December 2007 to earn a spot on the LPGA Tour in 2008.[22]

Professional wins (23)

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LPGA Tour wins (10)

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Legend
Major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (9)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin
of victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
1 10 Jun 2012 Wegmans LPGA Championship 72-73-70-67=282 −6 2 strokes   Eun-Hee Ji
  Stacy Lewis
  Mika Miyazato
  Suzann Pettersen
375,000
2 6 Oct 2013 Reignwood LPGA Classic 70-64-64-68=266 −26 1 stroke   Stacy Lewis 270,000
3 24 Nov 2013 CME Group Titleholders 66-74-67-66=273 −15 1 stroke   Gerina Piller 700,000
4 12 Oct 2014 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 67-67-69-63=266 −18 3 strokes   Pornanong Phatlum 300,000
5 30 Oct 2016 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia (2) 66-70-64-67=267 −17 3 strokes   Suzann Pettersen 270,000
6 6 Nov 2016 Toto Japan Classic^ 69-64-70=203 −13 1 stroke   Jang Ha-na 225,000
7 28 May 2017 LPGA Volvik Championship 68-67-66-68=269 −19 1 stroke   Minjee Lee
  Park Sung-hyun
195,000
8 5 Nov 2017 Toto Japan Classic^ (2) 66-63-68=197 −19 2 strokes   Ai Suzuki 225,000
9 11 Nov 2017 Blue Bay LPGA 69-67-73-70=279 −9 1 stroke   Moriya Jutanugarn 315,000
10 7 Jul 2019 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic 64-67-65-63=259 −29 1 stroke   Ariya Jutanugarn 300,000

^ Co-sanctioned with the LPGA of Japan Tour

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2011 Mizuno Classic   Momoko Ueda Lost to birdie on third extra hole
2 2012 HSBC Women's Champions   Na Yeon Choi
  Jenny Shin
  Angela Stanford
Stanford won with par on third extra hole
Choi eliminated by par on second hole
Feng eliminated by par on first hole
3 2014 Lorena Ochoa Invitational   Christina Kim Lost to par on second extra hole

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (7)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share (¥)
1 7 Aug 2011 Meiji Cup 68-67-67=202 −13 2 strokes   Eun-Bi Jang
  Miho Koga
16,200,000
2 25 Sep 2011 Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open 70-70-68=208 −8 1 stroke   Yuri Fudoh 12,600,000
3 27 May 2012 Yonex Ladies 70-69-69=208 −8 Playoff   Yukari Baba 10,800,000
4 5 Aug 2012 Meiji Cup 72-70-67=209 −7 Playoff   Sun-Ju Ahn
  Shinobu Moromizato
16,200,000
5 30 Sep 2012 Japan Women's Open Golf Championship 68-75-74-71=288 E 1 stroke   Inbee Park 28,000,000
6 6 Nov 2016 Toto Japan Classic^ 69-64-70=203 −13 1 stroke   Jang Ha-na 23,175,000
7 5 Nov 2017 Toto Japan Classic^ (2) 66-63-68=197 −19 2 strokes   Ai Suzuki 25,510,500

^ Co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour

Ladies European Tour wins (7)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up Winner's
share ()
1 2 Mar 2012 World Ladies Championship
individual event
66-69-71=206 −10 1 stroke   Pornanong Phatlum 56,275
2 8 Dec 2012 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters 66-65-67-69=267 −21 5 strokes   Dewi Claire Schreefel 75,000
3 13 Dec 2014 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters (2) 66-67-66-70=269 −19 5 strokes   Carlota Ciganda 75,000
4 10 May 2015 Buick Championship 65-67-69-70=271 −17 6 strokes   Kang Hyeon-seo 82,500
5 12 Dec 2015 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters (3) 67-67-67-66=267 −21 12 strokes   Thidapa Suwannapura 75,000
6 15 May 2016 Buick Championship (2) 71-66-70-67=274 −14 Playoff   Choi Na-yeon 72,324
7 10 Dec 2016 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters (4) 72-70-64=206 −10 2 strokes   Charley Hull 75,000

Ladies European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2016 Buick Championship   Choi Na-yeon Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

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Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship Winning score Margin Runners-up
2012 LPGA Championship −6 (72-73-70-67=282) 2 strokes   Eun-Hee Ji,   Stacy Lewis,   Mika Miyazato,   Suzann Pettersen

Results timeline

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Results not in chronological order before 2019.

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
ANA Inspiration CUT T55 T22 T25 6 T8 T50 T21 T25 CUT
U.S. Women's Open CUT CUT T48 CUT T42 T4 T9 T15 CUT T38 T5 CUT CUT
Women's PGA Championship T58 CUT T54 T50 1 T9 T6 T13 T17 CUT T18 CUT
The Evian Championship ^ T11 T10 3 4 T6 T44 T2
Women's British Open CUT T67 T73 T30 CUT T25 T2 T24 T17 T7 T7 CUT
Tournament 2020 2021
ANA Inspiration T3
U.S. Women's Open T4
Women's PGA Championship CUT
The Evian Championship NT
Women's British Open

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
ANA Inspiration 0 0 1 1 3 7 11 9
U.S. Women's Open 0 0 0 3 4 5 14 8
Women's PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 3 6 13 9
The Evian Championship 0 1 1 3 5 6 7 7
Women's British Open 0 1 0 1 3 6 12 9
Totals 1 2 2 9 18 30 57 42
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (2013 Kraft Nabisco – 2015 WPC)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2014 British – 2015 ANA)

Olympics medals (1)

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Singles: 1 (1 bronze medal)

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No. Date Tournament Score To par Gold medalist Silver medalist
1 20 Aug 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 70-67-68-69=273 −10   Inbee Park   Lydia Ko

LPGA Tour career summary

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Year Tournaments
played
Cuts
made
Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best
finish
Earnings
($)
Money
list rank
Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
2007 1 0 0 0 0 0 MC 0 n/a 75.50 n/a
2008 26 16 0 1 0 4 2 472,758 36 72.45 57
2009 21 12 0 0 0 0 T20 123,694 75 72.60 69
2010 17 15 0 0 0 4 T4 281,303 38 71.69 26
2011 17 15 0 1 0 4 2 362,097 32 71.22 20
2012 19 18 1 1 1 8 1 1,101,147 10 70.84 8
2013 19 18 2 2 0 10 1 1,716,657 4 70.37 6
2014 24 24 1 2 1 12 1 1,404,623 6 70.37 7
2015 21 20 0 1 2 12 T2 1,086,338 9 70.44 9
2016 21 20 2 1 1 11 1 1,458,579 5 69.88 4
2017 22 20 3 1 2 12 1 1,728,191 4 69.78 8
2018 22 21 0 0 3 6 T3 738,823 27 70.42 18
2019 23 17 1 1 0 6 1 986,190 16 70.23 16
2020 Did not play
2021 8 7 0 0 1 3 T3 520,964 40 70.81 n/a
Totals 261 223 10 11 11 92 1 11,981,365 13
  • official through 2021 season[23]

World ranking

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Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

Year World
ranking
Source
2006 609 [24]
2007 534 [25]
2008 48 [26]
2009 83 [27]
2010 79 [28]
2011 13 [29]
2012 5 [30]
2013 4 [31]
2014 5 [32]
2015 6 [33]
2016 4 [34]
2017 1 [35]
2018 11 [36]
2019 23 [37]
2020 31 [38]
2021 23 [39]

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gary Gilchrist on Growth of China's Future Golfers". The A Position. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Shanshan Feng". BBC News. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  3. ^ http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-sports/2012/06/10/shanshan-feng-wins-a-major-for-china/[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Mell, Randall (10 June 2012). "Feng win could inspire Chinese girls". Golf Channel. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  5. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (11 June 2012). "Shanshan Feng becomes first winner from China". ESPN W. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  6. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (10 June 2012). "Shanshan Feng claims China's first major title in golf". USA Today. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". Rolex Rankings. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  8. ^ Porter, Kyle (20 August 2016). "2016 Rio Olympic golf: Park, Ko take medals as Americans just miss bronze". CBS Sports.
  9. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". Rolex Rankings. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  10. ^ Rogers, Amy (2 August 2022). "Former world No. 1 Shanshan Feng announces retirement from LPGA". Golf Channel. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  11. ^ Eubanks, Steve (2 August 2022). "Shanshan Feng Bids A Fond Farewell To Fans Everywhere". LPGA. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  12. ^ Nichols, Beth Ann (9 August 2022). "Celebrating a newly-retired Shanshan Feng, the pioneering Chinese player who broke barriers with humor and one-of-a-kind style". Golfweek. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  13. ^ Levins, Keely (1 August 2022). "Former World No. 1 Shanshan Feng, first Chinese LPGA Tour player, announces retirement". Golf Digest. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Guangzhou Sports Officials visit Seattle in September 2011". Washington Cultural Exchange. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Get to Know Shanshan Feng". LPGA. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  16. ^ "Shanshan Feng Bio". LPGA. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  17. ^ Golf Channel television interview with Feng upon winning the 2012 LPGA Championship on 10 June 2012
  18. ^ "Feng Shanshan, China's first golf number one and 'guinea pig'". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "China's Shanshan Feng does things her way". ESPN. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  20. ^ a b c "Feng Shanshan's driving ambition" (PDF). China Daily. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  21. ^ a b c d "Shanshan Feng Bio". LPGA. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  22. ^ "Final Qualifying Tournament Results 2007". LPGA. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Shanshan Feng results". LPGA. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  24. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2006.
  25. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2007.
  26. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2008.
  27. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2009.
  28. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2010.
  29. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2011.
  30. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2012.
  31. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2013.
  32. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 29 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015.
  34. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2016.
  35. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 25 December 2017.
  36. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018.
  37. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019.
  38. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020.
  39. ^ "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021.
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