Minjee Lee isn’t too concerned about what her fellow leaders are going to be doing this weekend at the CPKC Women’s Open. Instead, the three-time major champion says she will be focused on herself and taking on the golf course.

Friday, Lee got off to a quick start as she went out in 31 to quickly climb the leaderboard as she made birdies at both No. 2 and No. 3 for the second consecutive day at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club. Her solid play continued on the back nine, but she wasn’t able to give herself as many short-range opportunities for birdie as she had on the front nine. Lee’s round was nearly flawless, minus a closing bogey at the par four 18th to come away with a round of 67 which put her in contention heading into the weekend of the CPKC Women’s Open.

“I think overall it's one of those courses where you -- I don't know, there is a score out there, but it's like you hit it a little bit off target or the rough is quite thick,” Lee said about finding the fairway, in which she missed five on Friday. “I think you just have to stay patient and take what it gives you.”

Lee is making her first start since the AIG Women’s Open. The Aussie said she needed to spend a few weeks recovering upon returning to Dallas, her base in the United States, after spending a month competing in Europe. Lee played in both The Amundi Evian Championship and ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open before teeing it up in the season’s final major championship. Lee says it took her a good week to adjust to the time change before she was able to begin practicing again in preparation for the trip to Canada.

“I don't know why, but I was super jet lagged for the first week, so I felt like usually I do like two weeks in Europe, but I stayed over for a whole month,” Lee said about returning to the United States. “Last week I did a little bit of practice but it was so hot that I felt like I was dying every day out in the heat. So, yeah, it's really lovely to be in Canada. This weather is pretty perfect.”

Just a few strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, Lee knows that she will need to be more aggressive and intends to do just that. Being able to chase, Lee says, will free her up mentally to attack more of the pins than she would have otherwise if she felt she needed to protect her lead.

“I do think internally it's a little bit different,” Lee said about adjusting her mindset this weekend. “I do think you feel like you need to keep the lead more than when you're chasing. You can kind of be a little more aggressive and you're trying to obviously chase and make as many birdies as possible.”

Lee knows that mindset well. She won her first major championship by overcoming a seven-stroke deficit with a final round of 64 to capture The Amundi Evian Championship in 2021. But she knows the competition is deep week to week on the LPGA Tour and she won’t be hawking the leaderboard to see how much she’s able to move up, rather she'll be seeking incremental improvement within her own game, hoping that will be enough to earn her a second victory this season.

“I think it's more a fight against myself and the golf course,” the reigning KPMG Women’s PGA Champion said about her strategy over the next 36-holes. “I just try to do my very best every day and try and get -- you know, get that 2% better on the course.”

Lee Taking a Different, Aggressive Mindset into Weekend in Canada

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