On the first tee at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, a new descriptor will finally be added to Minjee Lee’s starter announcement – major champion. This week in Fife, Lee makes her first appearance at an LPGA Tour event since winning her maiden major title at the Amundi Evian Championship, an accomplishment she said feels “like a monkey off the back.”
“Just to be able to call myself a major champion, I think it's just, you know, it's pretty special to me. It's just a really great feeling,” said Lee, now a six-time LPGA Tour winner. “I really do feel like I can play a bit more freely, especially in the majors. I think I had a lot of expectations that I sort of put on myself to perform well and yeah, you know, I feel like it was kind of coming but I just didn't know when.”
Lee said she can now set new goals for herself, especially coming off an exciting week at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After finishing T29, Lee prepares for an event where she feels quite comfortable. There’s something about links courses that bring out the best in Lee. Her worst finish in the Women’s Scottish Open is T16 in 2020. But she’s finished as high T2 back in 2018. She said she enjoys returning year after year to Scotland along with the challenges she expects from this type of course.
“It's just really calm and peaceful, so I really like it even though it gets windy and rainy, I just really like the challenge of playing links golf. I'm always just glad to be here,” said Lee. “I think if the wind gets up, [Dumbarnie is] going to be quite a challenge. If the wind gets up it's quite long. There are some fun holes. Maybe some of the holes will be reachable. Some of the par 5s you can get on in two. I think there's a great mix of holes so I think it will just be a good tournament course.”
And even more thrilling could be the potential for a sibling sweep of the Scottish Open. Her younger brother, Min Woo, won his second European Tour event with his victory at the 2021 Abrdn Scottish Open, just a few weeks before her Evian win. Lee said they got to celebrate back in the United States before the Olympics, and said his victory helped propel better play within the Australian.
“I think he really wanted it,” said Lee. “And for me to see him win, it sparked something for me, as well, so it's just nice to see.”
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