From the beginning, Shanshan Feng set a limit of playing only 10 years on the LPGA. Simply getting there was a battle given that no Chinese player had ever earned an LPGA card.
The Covid-19 pandemic extended Feng’s career as the Tokyo Olympics were pushed back but, ultimately, her retirement announcement last week was expected.
“I don’t want to just be a player for all my life,” said the 33-year-old trailblazer and 10-time winner on the LPGA.
A slimmed-down Feng was her usual funny self as she met with U.S. media over a Zoom call last Monday. After she talked about missing American buffalo wings and pepperoni pizza, she said she might order a pie after the call.
Being able to act on a whim is one of the great perks of retirement. Feng has recently enjoyed the luxury of not setting an alarm and impromptu spa days. She hasn’t touched her golf clubs since last September.
“As everybody knows, Shanshan is a happy person, and never push myself too hard,” she said. “I think life is great, and I just want to enjoy life, whatever I’m doing.”
To celebrate one of the great characters in the game who inspired countless Chinese players to follow in her footsteps, here’s a list of significant Feng firsts:
First Chinese player to earn an LPGA card
Feng came to the U.S. in February of 2007 to attend the IJGA Academy and work with instructor Gary Gilchrist. She earned her card that December with a ninth-place finish at Q-School, becoming the first player from China to earn exempt status on tour. Another 18-year-old and future No. 1, Yani Tseng, was part of the same class.
“I was really nervous because I’m a young one here,” said Feng, known as “Jenny” to her friends.
First Chinese player to win an LPGA event (and a major!)
In 2012, Feng broke through with her first LPGA title, which happened to be a major at what’s now known as the KPMG Women’s PGA. She’d go on to win 10 LPGA titles over the course of her career.
“I always saw myself as a guinea pig,” said Feng. “There was nobody ahead of me that I could follow their path. I had to really make out the path myself. I would say I just need to learn everything, almost like a beginner.”
First Chinese golfer to earn an Olympic medal
Shanshan Feng went on a tear after winning the bronze medal in Rio, saying that the experience brought her confidence back.
When she found out that Chinese athletes were going to meet President Xi Jinping, she rerouted her travel plans from Calgary to Guangzhou.
More than 100 media and fans gathered at the airport to meet Feng, and she felt like “a star.”
“I think this is what the Olympics has done,” she said.
At the ceremony to meet the president, the athletes had only seconds with him as he had hundreds of hands to shake.
Feng, overcome by the moment, blurted out, “President, you’re so handsome!”
Both Feng and the president were taken aback by her comment. He went back for a second handshake, thus giving Feng twice the amount of time with Jinping.
Few in the game leave an impression quite like Feng.
First Chinese player to ascend to World No. 1
The highlight of Feng’s career, she said, was becoming No. 1 in the world on November 13, 2017, after winning on home soil in front of her team and Chinese fans.
After the victory at Blue Bay, Feng flew to the U.S. for the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. She realized that she’d officially moved to No. 1 during a layover in Dallas.
To celebrate, she popped into a TGI Friday’s at the airport and ordered a steak. Feng snapped a photo of her plate and sent it to her father. This was after all, an historic occasion. Feng became the first Chinese golfer – male or female – to ascend to No. 1.
She stayed there for 23 weeks.
First to win wearing cow pants (guessing here)
Feng also broke down barriers in style, wearing bright-colored clothes and audacious prints, like her famous cow pants. She was a terrific example of work, balance and fun. Who better to lead the next generation of Chinese stars?
Last December, Feng took the job as head coach of the Chinese women’s national team. When she was a kid, Feng said, adults would marvel at her swing at the golf course because she was often the only youngster there.
That’s no longer the case.
“Right now, you’ll see almost half of the people are teenagers or kids,” she said. “There are so many people starting to play golf. … I think that’s the biggest change, and I’m very happy to see that.”
Feng is humble about what her success has meant to the game of golf in China, and she’s excited to give back in this new role.
Every year the Chinese press would ask her to put a grade on the year. If she had to grade her whole career, Feng said, she’d give herself a perfect score of 100.
The only goal Feng said she didn’t accomplish was getting into the LPGA Hall of Fame. But that doesn’t matter, she said.
“During the career, I wanted to be better and better but if you look back, my first goal was only to get on the LPGA,” she said. “I think I’ve gone really far compared to that goal. I really gave 100 percent during my whole career.”
No regrets.
