Winning the U.S. Women’s Open changed young Yuka Saso’s life and the months ahead of her. She never planned on staying in the United States this summer. But after the 19-year-old accepted LPGA Tour Membership with her major championship victory, she suddenly had a plethora of events to play in on the LPGA. Figuring out her schedule was key. While at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Saso realized she still needed a partner for the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. And in came Minjee Lee.
I was looking for a partner and I guess Yuka was sort of 50/50 if she was going to play,” said Lee, who finished T2 at Midland Country Club in 2019 alongside Jin Young Ko. “I asked her, and in a couple days she said, ‘Let's play.’ So here we are now.”
“Who would say no, right? It's Minjee,” said Saso.
“I know it's going to be a really exciting week. I really enjoy playing this kind of format. We can really feed off each other's energy and build a little bit of confidence,” said Lee. “I think, yeah, I'm just really excited for this week and excited to be back.”
Lee and Saso noted they’ve played together before, including a practice round at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2020. Saso was impressed.
“She was so good. Like controlling the shots and everything. Yeah. Having Minjee on my side is really good,” said Saso, who comes off a T5 finish at last week’s Marathon LPGA Classic.
When it comes to a partnership, the two fun-loving players are eager to get out and compete. Lee said she’s inspired by brother Min Woo, who won the abrdn Scottish Open last week to earn his first berth in a major championship at the Open. Even Saso enjoyed watching Min Woo claim his second European Tour victory, watching from the clubhouse during the rain delay at Marathon.
“I think just seeing him emotional and seeing after he won how much it means to him, I think it just -- I got a little bit emotional, as well, just seeing him like that,” said Lee. “I think I drew a little bit of inspiration from him just grinding it out there and coming out on top.”
“They had a three-way playoff, too,” said Saso. “It was pretty cool, and he was -- you could really see it, he was really happy making that putt. I hope we can have that putt, too, this week.”
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