BELMONT, Mich. —As the saying goes, beware the sick or injured golfer, and Andrea Lee could be one to fear this week in Michigan as she hunts for her third top 10 in her last four starts.

A nasty cold forced Lee to withdraw from the pro-am on Wednesday at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. The 26-year-old didn’t even practice the day before she teed it up in the opening round at Blythefield Country Club, but the LPGA Tour winner still managed to card a round of 67 on Thursday.

“I really wasn't expecting anything coming into today because I had a pretty bad cold last week, and I'm still getting over it,” Lee said after her strong start. “I had no expectations but had a lot of fun out there. Played really solid golf, hit some good shots, made a decent amount of putts. Overall, really satisfied.”

Lee had plenty with which to be satisfied as she began her day on the back nine and rattled off birdies on Nos. 11, 14, and 17 before making an eagle on the par-5 18th hole, where she said she was able to reach the green in two with her 3-wood.

“I striped it up the center of the green, and it bounced to the right. Feel like it maybe took a peek at the hole. Ended up three feet and made eagle there,” Lee said about the 18th hole. “That was a nice finish to my front nine.”

Lee dropped a single shot on the front nine to make the turn in 32. She cooled a bit on her inward nine with two birdies and a bogey on her final hole of the day. Ahead of this week in Belmont, Mich., Lee was leading the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy, having hit over 85 percent of her fairways so far this season, and she didn’t miss a single one at Blythefield on Thursday. She missed only three greens and needed 29 putts to get off to a strong start in the Great Lakes State.

And as much as Lee would love to get back in the winner’s circle for the first time since 2022, she’s also looking at the Meijer LPGA Classic as an opportunity to assess the state of her game ahead of the season’s third major, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which gets underway next week in Texas.

Lee has earned three top 10s in majors throughout her career, including a tie for third at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in 2024, where she played in the final group on Sunday. Through the first two majors of 2025, Lee has tied for 30th at The Chevron Championship and tied for 22nd at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.

“I like to get rounds under my belt, especially before a major. I am just kind of slowly getting back into it and getting my body into it,” Lee said about her reasons for teeing it up in the Meijer LPGA Classic. “It's nice to see low rounds, for sure. Gives me a lot of confidence.”

Lee has been on a run of solid form in recent weeks, and it would come as no surprise to see her in the hunt at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. Lee has recently put herself in the mix week to week and came into the Meijer LPGA Classic with top 10s in two of her last three starts, including a tie for third at the Mizuho Americas Open where she was five strokes back of winner Jeeno Thitikul, and a tie for 10th at the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion.

“I feel like I've been trending in the right direction this season. I have had pretty good finishes in the last couple of months,” Lee said about the state of her game. “So, hopefully, another good one this week, and hopefully, helps me prepare for next week at KPMG.”

Battling a Cold, Andrea Lee Soars Up Leaderboard with a 67 on Thursday at Meijer LPGA Classic

Related Articles