Four players are tied for first after carding 68s on day one of the inaugural MEXICO Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, one of whom is Republic of Korea native Jenny Shin.

The 32-year-old had a bit of a rollercoaster round on Thursday, making one double bogey, one bogey and seven birdies en route to her opening 68, and most of that drama came in her final eight holes on day one at El Camaleón Golf Course.

Starting on the front nine, Shin made a quick birdie on the par-4 2nd hole to get to 1-under almost immediately, but she gave that shot back with a bogey on the fifth hole. Shin recovered with a birdie on the par-5 7th hole and parred eight, nine and 10 before landing her third birdie of the round on the par-4 11th hole. The LPGA Tour winner then threw a one-two punch of birdies at the 13th and 14th holes to get to 4-under for the round with four holes remaining.

Shin’s momentum took a hit when she made a double bogey on 16 to slip back to 2-under, a misstep that could have quickly compounded for a less experienced player. But the LPGA Tour veteran took that mistake in stride and made two back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes at El Camaleón to ultimately finish at 4-under and hold a share of the early lead with 54 holes remaining in Mexico, what is just the fourth first-round lead/co-lead of her LPGA Tour career.

“I actually don't remember because it's so hot. I don't remember the first birdie,” Shin said when asked how she managed to get off to such a strong start. “But I hit some really good shots and some bad ones, hence the double bogey on 16. Overall, I think I putted pretty well and hit some good shots coming into the green.”

The MEXICO Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba is Shin’s eighth start of the 2025 season, and in her seven events before this week in Mexico, she has withdrawn once and earned just one top-20 finish at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, where she resides. She played in three editions of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, which was the last LPGA Tour event to be held in Mexico before this week, and never finished worse than T17 in those three appearances, tying for 14th in 2013, tying for seventh in 2014 and tying for 17th in 2017.

Shin is looking to find some momentum ahead of next week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills, as she has yet to finish in the top 10 on the LPGA Tour this season, something the Korean is working to rectify with the season’s second major on tap. And so far at Mayakoba, Shin seems to be rocking and rolling when it comes to her golf game, particularly giving credit to her putting on Thursday as the reason for her strong start.

“I made some long ones, important putts, whether it was for par or a 10-footer for birdie,” Shin said. “So, yeah, I'm happy with the 27 putts I had today.”

With three rounds left to play at what is proving to be a challenging venue – the field’s first-round scoring average of 75.18 is the highest single-round scoring average of the 2025 season according to KPMG Performance Insights – Shin knows she is going to have to continue mentally battling El Camaleón like she did in round one if she wants any chance at hanging around the top of the leaderboard over the weekend. But it isn’t just the venue that’s proving to be difficult to navigate – it’s also the elements – and Shin is putting a premium on energy conservation in what have been some pretty sweltering temperatures so far in Mexico at the inaugural edition of this championship.

“I didn't anticipate heat like this,” Shin said. “I was really shocked when I got here. Definitely does feel like I'm in Southeast Asia. Been hydrating a lot. Drinking a lot of salted water. A lot of electrolytes. I haven't really been practicing, so I'm going to head straight to the hotel room after this.

“If I hadn't had my U.S. Open next week, I think I would've participated in a lot of the activities (offered at the resort). Been spending a lot of time indoors cooling off, conserving my energy.”

Jenny Shin Tied for Lead After 18 Holes at MEXICO Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba

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