Ji-Yai Shin Signs Lucrative Sponsorship Deal

I didn't expect her to be sponsorless for long. From Chosunilbo:

Golfer Shin Ji-yai, who was unable to find a sponsor last year despite her outstanding performance, finally signed a five-year sponsorship contract with Mirae Asset Global Investments on Friday. Under the contract, Shin will get paid W1 billion annually with additional bonuses of up to W500 million depending on her performance (US$1=W1,378).

Shin won three LPGA titles last year as a visitor, including the British Open, and was the best performing Korean female professional golfer overseas. She won prizes worth a total of US$3.88 million.

However, she had difficulty in finding a sponsor at the end of last year. Her value had skyrocketed while firms' financial situations worsened amid the recession. Meanwhile, Michelle Wie, who earned $7 million last year, earned the most income, thanks to her appearance in advertisements, although she was outperformed by Shin, earning only $70,000 in prize money.

How many LPGA Tournaments will Shin win in 2009? I'm predicting five and one major.