Minjee Lee claimed her second major championship on Sunday with the lowest 72-hole score in U.S. Women’s Open history by one stroke. Sponsored by ProMedica, the tournament featured 156 players from 28 different countries around the world.
Lee arrived at the major championship with seven LPGA Tour wins including one major win at The Amundi Evian Championship held in Evian-les-Bains, France in July 2021.
“I’ve been working really hard on all aspects of my game, so I feel like I’m pretty confident in my ability right now,” said Lee.
Leading into this second major victory, Lee recorded three top-three finishes including a win at the Cognizant Founders Cup this year. She has recorded eight top-10 finishes in majors during her career. Lee now ties Inbee Park with the most top-10 finishes in majors since 2020, which is a 45% conversion rate.
| Most Top-10 Finishes in Majors Since 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Minjee Lee | 5 |
| Inbee Park | 5 |
| Megan Khang | 4 |
| Jin Young Ko | 4 |
| Lydia Ko | 4 |
| Nelly Korda | 4 |
| Patty Tavatanakit | 4 |
This major win comes in Lee’s eighth season on tour. After her first appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2015, Lee missed the cut. In the following years, her highest recorded finish was a tie for 11th in 2017.
“This is pretty special,” said Lee. “This is the one I’ve always wanted to win since I was a little kid.”
| Minjee Lee's Results - U.S. Women's Open | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Finish | To Par |
| 2015 | Cut | +5 |
| 2016 | T46 | +5 |
| 2017 | T11 | -4 |
| 2018 | T34 | +6 |
| 2019 | T12 | -1 |
| 2020 | T46 | +11 |
| 2021 | T54 | +14 |
| 2022 | Won | -13 |
With this win, Lee is now ranked first in total strokes gained passing Lexi Thompson and above Rolex Rankings No.1 Jin Young Ko.
Her improvement is based on the tee-to-green average, which is 3.45 and at least 1.46 strokes better than any other player.
Lee’s off-the-tee performance moved her into the top 15 on the LPGA Tour. She missed nine fairways, however managed to have good ball placement on the greens. This resulted in 1.64 putts per hole, and a total of 22 birdies and 9 bogeys.
| Minjee Lee Strokes Gained - 2022 LPGA Tour Season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Average | Rank | |
| Strokes gained total | 2.70 | 1st |
| Strokes gained tee to green | 3.45 | 1st |
| Strokes gained approach | 2.86 | 1st |
Lee said, “I think it was the right move to start aggressively, and then after that I had quite a big shot lead, so I was able to just play my game to finish.”
With a four-round total of 271, Lee’s effort was a clear path to victory for the 26-year-old Australian. Finishing at 13-under-par, she was thrilled to capture the trophy.
Minjee Lee is becoming a role model for the game of women’s golf.
)
)
)
)
