It’s a shock to think that Minjee Lee hadn’t ever played in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions before this week, despite having qualified for the year’s first tournament several times throughout her career. But after her performance during the final round at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, the Australian will likely have this event circled on her calendar from now on.

The 10-time LPGA Tour winner fired a scorching hot, bogey-free, 10-under 62 on day four of the year’s first tournament, carding eight birdies and an eagle to best the low round of the week in Orlando, Fla., by three shots. After posting rounds of 72-70-70 and sitting at 4-under total after the first three days of play, Lee raced out of the gate on Sunday, picking up a pair of back-to-back birdies on the first two holes at Lake Nona to quickly move to 6-under.

She then stalled a bit, parring her next five holes before ripping off four straight birdies on the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th holes to get to double digits under par for the tournament. Lee parred 12 and then made two more birdies on 13 and 14 to climb to 8-under for the day and 12-under total. But her best hole of the round was by far the par-5 15th, where Lee found the green in two and then rolled in a midrange eagle try with the new long putter that the Aussie recently put in the bag.

Lee parred in coming down what can be a tough closing stretch at Lake Nona to post a 10-under 62 and finish her debut at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in a tie for fourth alongside Jin Young Ko.

Today’s score is Lee’s new career-low round on the LPGA Tour and is also her first round of 63 or better since she posted a 63 on day two of the 2022 Founders Cup en route to a victory at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J., an early-season effort that should serve as a good confidence-booster ahead of next week’s Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands.

“Starting with two birdies is always going to be a nice fast start,” said Lee. “Before I started today, I was like, let's just get off to a really fast start and see how low I can do today. I tried to ride the momentum over the 8th and 9th holes and into the 10th and 11th, so that was nice. Having an eagle on 15, it was like the cherry on top. I just hit it really solid and made some really nice putts. It was easy today.”

The 2024 season was a bit quieter than Lee might have liked, as she had gotten quite used to picking up a win or two each year, having done so in 2021, 2022 and 2023. But even though she didn’t find victory lane last season, the Aussie still made 16 cuts in 21 starts and earned four top-10 finishes, including a tie for ninth at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally.

Lee isn’t the type of player that settles for good enough, however, and she has made quite a few changes since we last saw her at the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship in an effort to get some momentum going heading into 2025.

For one, she started her season much earlier than she typically does, a choice that has already paid off, considering she carded her first top-five result of the year in spectacular fashion. She has a new looper on her bag, Mike Paterson, a long-time LPGA Tour caddie who has carried for Lee a couple of times in the past. But the most noticeable difference in Lee’s game is that long putter, and it proved to be quite deadly on Sunday at Lake Nona, as Lee made six putts from 10 feet or longer in the final round, compared to the 1.8 putts she averaged per round from that same range in 2024.

“There are a lot of putters at the golf club, so I was just feeling around with a few,” Lee said when asked about how she decided to put a new putter in the bag. “Not necessarily the long putter was my first choice. I think once I started practicing with it was not super unnatural or didn't feel too weird. For me, I think, it's just a little new adventure, and see where it takes me.”

If her performance on day four of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions is any indication, her new flat stick just might carry Lee to the LPGA Tour winner’s circle sooner rather than later in the coming months. In any case, though, Lee will be rolling into Bradenton Country Club this upcoming week with plenty of confidence derived from her 62, self-belief that could bring with it some lethality from the 10-time Tour winner.

Minjee Lee Fires 10-Under 62 in Final Round of Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions

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