Minjee Lee confirmed her legacy as one of the true greats of Australian golf with a three-stroke victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.
A contender throughout the week, and a four-stroke leader heading into the final day’s play at PGA Frisco, Lee began her Sunday bid for a third Major championship in tentative fashion.
Three bogeys on the front nine saw Lee’s 54-hole four-stroke lead shrink to just two but she steadied the ship with three birdies in her final 10 holes to ease to victory.
Lee’s closing 74 may have been her worst round of the week, but it was enough to shepherd her to a three-shot win at four-under-par for the championship.
Her nearest rivals were Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen and Auston Kim of the USA. The trio were the only players to complete the championship under par.
Minjee hangs tough to join game’s greats
Sleeping on four-stroke leads is never easy at Major championships, but Lee’s hopes were boosted by an early bogey by her nearest challenger and playing partner, Jeeno Thitikul.
This briefly extended Lee’s advantage to five strokes but three bogeys of her own in the space of four holes threatened to turn the championship on its head.
Producing the type of golf that had given Lee the 54-hole lead, Auston Kim emerged as the main danger, making up seven of the nine-shot deficit she began the day with to apply some Texan heat.
Yet, in vindication of the switch she and coach Ritchie Smith made at the start of the year, Lee leant on the broomstick putter down the stretch to seal her first tour win since the BMW Ladies Championship in October 2023.
Minjee Lee now has three Majors to her name (Photo: Darren Carroll/PGA of America)
Still only 29 years of age, Royal Fremantle’s Lee becomes the fourth Australian with at least three major titles, joining iconic figures Karrie Webb (seven), Peter Thomson (five) and Jan Stephenson (three) in a truly exclusive club.
She is the fourth Australian to win the Women’s PGA Championship (after Stephenson, Webb and Hannah Green) and adds to her Major victories at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open.
“It feels pretty amazing. I feel like I really deserve this one and I put a lot of hard work into it, so yeah, I feel really good,” Lee said upon confirmation of her win. “I just played my very best.”
“I think it’s only three other names on this trophy that are Australians. It’s just such a great privilege to be able to have my name up with them as well,” Lee added.
The win earned Lee a cool US$1.8m, taking her career earnings beyond the $17m mark. She has moved up one spot to seventh on the LPGA’s all-time money list.
Elsewhere in the field, Gabi Ruffels and Grace Kim (+10) were the next best of the Australians in a tie for 36th, while Karis Davidson and Steph Kyriacou (+12) were in a tie for 47th.
Lee’s Fellow Western Australians Hannah Green (+16, 67th) and Hira Naveed (+25, 77th) also made it through all four rounds. Green’s hopes of making a title challenge ended in Round 3 after an uncharacteristic 81.
View the final leaderboard here.
Lead image: Getty Images
Keep up with the latest WA golf news news via the GolfWA news section and our Facebook and Insta accounts. You can also subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter here.
