Minjee Lee

Minjee Lee (born 27 May 1996) is an Australian professional golfer from Perth. She became the number one ranked amateur golfer in February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open, remaining number one until turning professional in September 2014. On 25 July 2021, Lee won her first major championship, the Amundi Evian Championship. On 5 June 2022, she won her second major championship, the U.S. Women's Open.

Lee at the LPGA International Crown Pro-Am in 2014

Minjee Lee
Personal information
Born (1996-05-27) 27 May 1996
Perth, Western Australia
Sporting nationality Australia
Career
Turned professional2014
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour
Professional wins13
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour10
Ladies European Tour2
ALPG Tour2
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 2)
Chevron ChampionshipT3: 2017
Women's PGA C'shipT2: 2022
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 2022
Women's British Open3rd: 2020
Evian ChampionshipWon: 2021
Achievements and awards
Greg Norman Medal2018, 2021
Rolex Annika Major Award2022

Amateur career

In 2010, Lee became the youngest winner of the WA Amateur Open while still a year 9 student at Methodist Ladies' College, Perth.[1] At the start of 2012, she was moved from MLC to Corpus Christi College, to be closer to her golf course at Royal Fremantle. She left Corpus Christi in 2013.[2][3]

Lee was the winner of the 2012 U.S. Girls' Junior.[4][5] She won the Australian Women's Amateur in 2013[6] and successfully defended the title in 2014.[7]

Lee became the number one ranked amateur golfer on 26 February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open on the ALPG Tour.[8] She remained the number one ranked amateur golfer until she turned professional in September 2014 after leading the Australia team that won the Espirito Santo Trophy.[9]

Professional career

2015

On 18 May 2015, Lee gained her first LPGA Tour victory at the Kingsmill Championship.[10]

2016

In 2016, she won the Lotte Championship in April, and the Blue Bay LPGA in October.[10] Lee represented Australia in the women's golf competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, finishing in a tie for 7th.[11]

2018

In April 2018, she lost the LPGA Mediheal Championship in a playoff to Lydia Ko, then on 27 May 2018, won the LPGA Volvik Championship.[10] Lee finished 2018 ranked second on the money list with $1,551,032 in earnings, finishing second in scoring average with 69.75 shots per round.[12] She also became the first woman to win the Greg Norman Medal for being the best Australian professional golfer on the world stage.[3]

2019

On 28 April 2019, Lee won the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, her fifth LPGA Tour victory.[10] By late the following month, she had risen to number two in the Women's World Golf Rankings, but in her home country she still had such a low profile that she was described by The Age as the "Invisible Champion of Australia".[3]

2021

On 25 July 2021, Lee won her first major championship, the Amundi Evian Championship, by coming from seven strokes behind in the final round and defeating Lee Jeong-eun on the first playoff hole.[13]

Lee qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and competed in the women's competition. She scored −4 across the four rounds and finished 29th, out of medal contention.[14]

2022

She won her seventh LPGA Tour event, the Cognizant Founders Cup, on 15 May 2022, beating Lexi Thompson by two strokes, 269 (19-under-par) to Thompson's 271. Her final round of 70 was the only one she did not have in the 60s. The start of the final round was delayed by an hour because of fog. She was ranked fifth in the world before her win, just behind fourth-ranked Atthaya Thitikul[15] who finished the final round with a 63, good for a tie for eighth place at 13-under-par.[16]

Her eighth LPGA Tour win, the U.S. Women's Open on 5 June 2022, earned her the largest payday to date in women's golf history, $1.8 million of the $10 million total purse. Lee won by four strokes over Mina Harigae, who received $1,080,000. This was the first occasion in a women's golf tournament where there were two prizes in excess of $1 million. Lee set a new record of 271, and led Harigae by three strokes after 54 holes.[17]

On 15 November, she won the season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge and $1,000,000 for the 2022 LPGA Tour season.[18] This challenge selects one hole in every participating event and designates it as the Aon Risk Reward hole for that week. The challenge rewards the player who has the best two scores from every participating event that a player competes in throughout the season, measured by the lowest average score to par on these holes.[19]

Personal life

Lee's parents, Soonam and Clara Lee, were both from Korea, and emigrated to Australia in the early 1990s.[20] Lee's younger brother, Min Woo Lee, won the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, making them the first brother/sister pair to win the USGA's junior championships.[21]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (13)

LPGA Tour wins (10)
Legend
Major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (8)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 18 May 2015 Kingsmill Championship 68-67-69-65=269 −15 2 strokes South Korea Ryu So-yeon
2 16 Apr 2016 Lotte Championship 68-66-74-64=272 −16 1 stroke United States Katie Burnett
South Korea Chun In-gee
3 23 Oct 2016 Blue Bay LPGA 65-67-73-70=275 −13 1 stroke United States Jessica Korda
4 27 May 2018 LPGA Volvik Championship 67-69-68-68=272 −16 1 stroke South Korea In-Kyung Kim
5 28 Apr 2019 Hugel-Air Premia LA Open 66-69-67-68=270 −14 4 strokes South Korea Kim Sei-young
6 25 Jul 2021 Amundi Evian Championship 68-69-65-64=266 −18 Playoff South Korea Lee Jeong-eun
7 15 May 2022 Cognizant Founders Cup 67-63-69-70=269 −19 2 strokes United States Lexi Thompson
8 5 June 2022 U.S. Women's Open 67-66-67-71=271 −13 4 strokes United States Mina Harigae
9 10 Sep 2023 Kroger Queen City Championship 67-69-65-71=272 −16 Playoff England Charley Hull
10 22 Oct 2023 BMW Ladies Championship 64-69-71-68=272 −16 Playoff United States Alison Lee

LPGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2018 LPGA Mediheal Championship New Zealand Lydia Ko Lost to eagle on first extra hole
2 2019 Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA United States Nelly Korda
Germany Caroline Masson		 Korda won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2021 Amundi Evian Championship South Korea Lee Jeong-eun Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup South Korea Ko Jin-young Lost to par on first extra hole
5 2023 Kroger Queen City Championship England Charley Hull Won with birdie on second extra hole
6 2023 BMW Ladies Championship United States Alison Lee Won with birdie on first extra hole

Ladies European Tour wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 4 Feb 2018 Oates Vic Open[1] 70-67-75-67=279 −13 5 strokes Australia Karis Davidson
2 6 Nov 2020 Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic 72-65-69=206 −10 Playoff France Céline Boutier

1 Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour.

LET playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2020 Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic France Céline Boutier Won with birdie on first extra hole

ALPG Tour wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 23 Feb 2014 Oates Vic Opena 73-70-68-68=279 −16 6 strokes Scotland Vikki Laing
2 4 Feb 2018 Oates Vic Open[2] 70-67-75-67=279 −13 5 strokes Australia Karis Davidson

a Lee won the 2014 Oates Vic Open as an amateur.
2 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.

Major championships

Wins (2)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2021The Evian Championship7 shot deficit–18 (68-69-65-64=266)PlayoffSouth Korea Lee Jeong-eun
2022U.S. Women's Open3 shot lead–13 (67-66-67-71=271)4 strokesUnited States Mina Harigae

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2019 or in 2020.

Tournament2014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Chevron Championship T24LA CUT T26 T3 T25 T21 T7 T25 12 T41
Women's PGA Championship T13 T12 T36 T25 T30 T58 T40 T2 T20
U.S. Women's Open T22 CUT T46 T11 T34 T12 T46 T54 1 T13
The Evian Championship T16 T11 T67 T32 T16 CUT NT 1 T43 T16
Women's British Open CUT T9 T25 CUT 10 T11 3 T5 T4 T50

LA = Low amateur

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Chevron Championship00112698
Women's PGA Championship01011599
U.S. Women's Open100115109
The Evian Championship10011598
Women's British Open001357108
Totals212710284742
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 20 (2019 British – 2023 British, current)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)

LPGA Tour career summary
YearTournaments
played		Cuts
made		Wins2nd3rdTop 10sBest
finish		Birdies
(rank)		Earnings
($)		Money
list rank		Scoring
average		Scoring
rank
2013 1 1 0 0 0 0 T55 17
(n/a)		 n/a n/a 72.25 n/a
2014 6 5 0 0 0 0 T11 74
(n/a)		 n/a n/a 71.77 n/a
2015 29 24 1 0 0 7 1 377
(6)		 821,121 16 70.89 15
2016 27 26 2 1 0 8 1 402
(4)		 1,213,902 12 70.42 13
2017 26 22 0 1 3 10 T2 376
(6)		 1,027,941 16 70.18 15
2018 27 25 1 3 2 13 1 414
(2)		 1,551,032 2 69.75 2
2019 26 24 1 4 2 9 1 379
(7)		 1,522,607 8 69.91 9
2020 16 16 0 0 2 5 3 208
(1)		 724,273 8 70.71 11
2021 18 16 1 1 0 7 1 227
(59)		 1,542,332 4 70.32 22
2022 20 18 2 2 1 6 1 305
(15)		 3,809,960 2 69.69 7
2023 17 17 2 1 0 4 1 278
(3)		 1,552,475 9 70.59 16
Totals^ 206 (2015) 188 (2015) 10 13 10 69 1 3,057 13,765,643 11

^ Official as of 22 October 2023[22][23][24]

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

YearWorld
ranking		Source
201518[25]
201617[26]
201719[27]
20186[28]
20199[29]
20208[30]
20217[31]
20224[32]
20234^[33]

^ As of 23 October 2023

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References
  1. Rickard, Jayne (1 April 2011). "Teenage golfer is WA classic favourite". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  2. Quartermain, Glen (1 February 2015). "The rise and rise of WA teen golfer Minjee Lee, president of the club". PerthNow. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  3. Blake, Martin (24 May 2019). "Minjee Lee, the invisible champion without an Australian sponsor". The Age. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  4. "Minjee Lee Claims U.S. Girls' Junior". USGA. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  5. Kroichick, Ron (21 July 2012). "Australia's Lee wins girls' golf title". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  6. "Smith and Lee crowned Amateur champions". Golf Australia. 22 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  7. "Lee and Koh cruise to Australian Amateur victories". Golf Australia. 19 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  8. "Minjee Lee and Patrick Rodgers take the WAGR Number 1 spots". World Amateur Golf Ranking. 26 February 2014.
  9. Nichols, Beth Ann (6 September 2014). "Australian standout Minjee Lee turns pro". Golfweek.
  10. "In the winner's circle with Minjee Lee". LPGA. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  11. "Rio 2016: Emma Moffatt finishes sixth in Olympic triathlon, Minjee Lee seventh in golf". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  12. "Minjee Lee: 2018 Scoring Average". LPGA. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  13. "Lee wins her 1st major after beating Lee6 in playoff". LPGA. Associated Press. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  14. "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  15. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 9 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  16. "Minjee Lee Hangs On, Wins Cognizant Founders Cup Over Thompson". LPGA. 15 May 2022.
  17. Reed, Steve (5 June 2002). "Awesome Aussie: Lee wins U.S. Women's Open, record $1.8M". Associated Press. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  18. "Minjee Lee Wins The LPGA Tour AON Risk Reward Challenge And 1 Million Prize". LPGA. 15 November 2022.
  19. "AON Risk Reward Challenge". LPGA. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  20. "Minjee Lee, the invisible champion without an Australian sponsor". SMH. 24 July 2016.
  21. "Australia's Min Woo Lee wins US Junior Amateur". Associated Press News. 24 May 2019.
  22. "Minjee Lee statistics". LPGA. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  23. "Minjee Lee results". LPGA. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  24. "Career Money". LPGA. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  25. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2015.
  26. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2016.
  27. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2017.
  28. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 31 December 2018.
  29. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 30 December 2019.
  30. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 28 December 2020.
  31. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 27 December 2021.
  32. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 26 December 2022.
  33. "Women's World Golf Rankings". 23 October 2023.
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