GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) - South Korean Jiyai Shin, already Rookie of the Year, could end Mexican Lorena Ochoa's hold on LPGA Player of the Year with a victory in Ochoa's own tournament this week.

Ochoa, who has been the women's tour's Player of the Year for three straight seasons, trails the 21-year-old Shin by four points in the race for the award going into the limited-field Lorena Ochoa Invitational that starts here on Thursday at Guadalajara Country Club.

"It has been a year with a little bit more ups and downs," said Ochoa, still the world number one and winner of three titles this year. "The great thing is that I have the opportunity to be player of the year again. It's going to be tough."

Shin, too, has won three times this season, to go with three victories last year on the LPGA Tour before she was a member.

With two tournaments remaining - this week's and next week's Tour Championship - a victory for Shin and a finish of eighth or worse by Ochoa would see the South Korean lock up the award.

The last player to earn both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year was Nancy Lopez in 1978.

Shin also leads the LPGA season money list with 1.7 million dollars, ahead of Japan's Ai Miyazato with 1.5 million dollars. Ochoa is fifth at 1.3 million dollars.

No South Korean, not even superstar Se Ri Pak, has finished atop the money list. Nor has any Korean ever been LPGA Player of the Year. Shin is the sixth Korean to win rookie of the year.

"At the beginning of the season my goal was rookie of the year," Shin said. "But I've already made that and now I have a chance for player of the year, too. ... There's no pressure because I have already made my goal. Player of the year is a bonus thing for me."

Shin and Ochoa are the front-runners, but a few other players have slim chances of nabbing player of the year. They include: Cristie Kerr, Miyazato, Taiwan's Yani Tseng, Norway's Suzann Pettersen, and Korean Na Yeon Choi.

The 36-strong field includes the top 31 on the LPGA money list. Among five playing on sponsors exemptions are British veteran Laura Davies.