The US Women’s Open is poised crucially at the end of two rounds of play. The second major of the season has lived up to its billing with Chevron Championship winner Mao Saigo setting sights on a second major of the season. The Japanese golfer has rushed to a three-stroke lead after day 2, with six players trailing her, including the World No.1 Nelly Korda. Moving Day will be an exciting affair. Amongst the trailing pack is the ‘Smiling Cinderella’, aka Hinako Shibuno.Shibuno, from Japan herself, is looking to make this year count after finishing 2nd at the Lancaster Country Club last year to another fellow countrywoman in Yuka Saso. Saso carded 4 under par during the entirety of the tournament while Shibuno could only manage a score of 1 under par, despite a day 3 push in scoring. Shibuno will be looking to avoid the mistakes from the past as she chases Saigo to the finish line.But what is her story? Let’s take a look in detail at how the Japanese golfer found her calling in golf and her humble beginnings.Hinako Shibuno’s origin storyShibuno was born in the Okayama prefecture in Japan on 15 November 1998 to Satoru and Nobuko. The Japanese native is the middle child of a family with three daughters with sports intertwined with her journey at a very young age. Satoru, her father, was a discus thrower while Nobuko was a javelin thrower. This laid a sports-based foundation for the young Shibuno who took up golf and softball during second grade.At Jōtō junior high school, she joined the baseball team as their only female player. But her career-defining incident happened at the 2011 Okayama Prefecture Junior Golf Championship. Shibuno won the event, which led her to make the decision to concentrate on golf completely, an advice she received surprisingly from her baseball coach. There was no turning back from that moment. Hinako Shibuno Erin Hills pic.twitter.com/htrCSful5L— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) May 30, 2025It’s not that her journey wasn’t fraught with setbacks. In 2017, Shibuno took the test to play professionally but failed. However, she did not let the setback bother her. The onetime Major winner put her head down and began steadily working harder and retook the test in 2018. Shibuno passed the test and turned professional. Nearly, a year later she was announcing herself on the global golf stage with a stunning victory at the AIG Women’s British Open held at the Woburn Golf Club in Milton Keynes, England.Shibuno’s stunning LPGA debut and subsequent majorsHinako Shibuno was a constant fixture on the LPGA of Japan Tour claiming two victories by July 2019, the first of which came at the World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup. Her performance allowed her to participate in the Women’s British Open in August 2019, which would mark her major debut as well as her first time playing professionally outside of Japan. There was no way else to go, but up and beyond from there.Shibuno played consistent, solid golf across four days to clinch her first major on debut, becoming the first Japanese player in 42 years to win a major championship. The last person before Shibuno was Hisako Higuchi at the 1977 LPGA Championship. She also became only the second player to win a major on her debut in 2010s, the previous instance being Kim Hyo Joo at the 2014 Evian Championship.Post her historic landmark victory, Shibuno did occasionally shine well. She had the 54-round solo lead at the 2020 US Women’s Open. However, she felt to T4 on the last day. She also finished runner-up at 2024 edition and now she is looking to take that extra step and claim the title at Erin Hills. Do you think she can oust her country mate, Mao Saigo, and claim her second major?The post What Is Hinako Shibuno’s Ethnicity? LPGA Pro’s Roots, Career and More Explored appeared first on EssentiallySports.