Tag: Minjee Lee

Carefree Lydia Ko in command by five at season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where the winner earns $2 million

Lydia Ko is in position to finish her season strong.

NAPLES, Fla. – Leona Maguire took a vastly different road to the LPGA than Lydia Ko, ruling the women’s amateur scene for years as a standout at Duke. A dozen years ago, a 27-year-old Maguire teed it up with a 13-year-old Ko at the World Amateur Team Championship in Argentina.

“She was a phenom then getting ready to turn pro,” said Maguire. “I remember her short game was incredible. A wedge shot didn’t go outside 3, 4 feet.”

Players still marvel at Ko, who at 25 is enjoying a magnificent career resurgence. After a second-round 66, Ko leads the field by five at the CME Group Tour Championship at 13-under 131. A victory here would shore up her first LPGA Player of the Year award since 2015, not to mention a $2 million payday.

Ko said she wanted to finish the season with no regrets, playing freely.

“I think when I play freely,” said Ko, “I’m not being tentative. I’m controlling how the shot is going to go. I think that way it’s just a little bit stress-free.

“If I do miss it, hey, like, I’m going to miss one here and there. So it’s just a better place for me to be at. And obviously when the nerves kick in, that bit is a lot harder, but I think when I was struggling, I got more and more tentative and trying to control the ball and trying to make it work.”

While she hasn’t mathematically clinched the Vare Trophy for low scoring average, it’s basically a done deal. To rise to No. 1 in the world again, she’d have to win and have Nelly Korda finish solo 21st or worse. In 2015, Ko became the youngest player to ever reach No. 1 in the world ­– male or female – at age 17.

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Korda sits in a share of third with Anna Nordqvist, Gemma Dryburgh, and Nasa Hataoka, six strokes back. Hyo Joo Kim sits alone in second at 8 under. Maguire, a first-time winner this season, is at 6 under with Amy Yang and Jeongeun Lee6.

Top-ranked Korda, who is wearing her new signature line with J.Lindeberg this week, made four birdies on the front nine and then parred the last nine holes after the putter went dry.

“They’ve kind of used a lot of the Sunday pins,” said Korda, who won last week’s Pelican LPGA Championship.

“I would say, 16, 17, they kind of put them in the back just over a bunker. When you kind of get on one of those ridges that it can break either way, like, it just happens that occasionally you don’t roll them in.”

Nelly Korda gives a smile on the 18th green during the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on Nov. 18, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Ko, a two-time winner on tour this season and the 2014 CME champion, leads the LPGA in strokes gained total per round and strokes gained putting per round this season. Coming into this event she had made 201 putts of 10 feet or longer this season, eight more than any other player on tour.

Ko tops the tour in putts per green in relegation with a 1.72 average. She did the same in 2016 (1.71).

“I think during the times when I wasn’t hitting it as good, my short game improved,” said Ko. “So it’s good and bad, but I don’t feel like I’m the best putter in the world. I feel like there is so much room for improvement.”

Minjee Lee trails Ko by one point in the POY race. The Aussie bogeyed the last hole to shoot 68. She’s 5 under for the tournament in a share of 10th.

Coming into the event, Ko was 26 under at the CME over the past two years compared to Lee at 24 under.

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Minjee Lee wins Aon, collects another seven-figure check. She could enjoy richest season in LPGA history with strong week at CME

Minjee Lee could enjoy the richest season in the history of women’s golf.

NAPLES, Fla. – Minjee Lee collected her second seven-figure check of the season after winning the 2022 Aon Risk Reward Challenge and the $1 million prize.

Seven-figure checks remain rare in women’s golf. This year, seven will be handed out, though the Aon prize is unofficial money.

Earlier this season, Lee, 26, won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles for her second major title and a record-setting $1.8 million paycheck. A two-time winner this season, Lee currently tops the money list with $3,759,835.

Lee, who already clinched the Rolex Annika Major Award, could actually enjoy the richest season in the history of women’s golf, should she win this week’s $2 million prize at the CME Group Tour Championship. Actually, she could finish second ($687,000) and still beat Lorena Ochoa’s record of $4,354,994 set in 2007. Ochoa won seven times that season, including one major.

“I haven’t really had the time to go shopping yet,” said Lee when asked if she’d splurged. “Maybe this week.”

While Lee started the year off strong, she hasn’t had a top 10 since August. Currently No. 5 in the world, Lee sits one point behind Lydia Ko in the LPGA Player of the Year race, which carries the added bonus of a Hall of Fame point.

Lee played both events in Asia but skipped last week’s Pelican LPGA Championship. After such a strong start to 2022, Lee said she’s learning how to refresh.

“Probably the last few weeks, I haven’t really been quite on top of my game,” she said. “I was striking it so well come, what, like eight, nine months throughout the year. Probably didn’t hit it as well or putted it as well the last couple of weeks, but this is the last event of the season, of the LPGA season. I really want to do well.”

The Aon Risk Reward Challenge offers a $1 million prize to winners on both the LPGA and PGA Tours. Scottie Scheffler clinched the men’s race earlier this season.

One of the best ball-strikers on the LPGA, Lee has added length to her game in recent years, and she went for the green on the challenge holes 58 percent of the time compared to a tour average of 32 percent. The race tabulates the two best scores on the designated challenge holes from every participating event a player competes in. Players must compete in a minimum of 40 rounds throughout the season to qualify.

“It’s quite life-changing money that Aon puts up,” said Lee, “and it’s really great for the women’s tour and the LPGA. It’s a great opportunity for us on both tours just to be put on kind of the same plane.”

Lee is the second consecutive Aussie to win the title, following Hannah Green. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda won the first Aon race.

Jennifer Bell, Aon’s chief executive officer, North America, said she hopes what they’re doing to support the LPGA equally with the men’s tour will influence other firms to do the same.

“In order to make sure that we’re getting gender equity and making sure that we lift the LPGA Tour and the players up to get to the level of pay that they should, I always say, ‘What is your firm doing?'” said Bell.

“It’s interesting because it puts the pressure, so it’s more of an influence than anything. Hopefully it’s making a difference.”

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Minjee Lee, Atthaya Thitikul have one last chance to make their moves for Aon Risk Reward’s $1 million prize

Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul are dueling it out in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million.

Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul have much to play for as the LPGA season winds down, including a couple of seven-figure checks. In addition to the CME Group Tour Championship’s record-setting $2 million winner’s check, they currently top the standings in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.

Both players are in the field at this week’s Toto Japan Classic, where the challenge hole is the par-5 13th at Seta Golf Course, set at 476 yards. The Aon insight says that from the fairway, 27 percent of the field is expected to successfully reach the green.

The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million. When Lee won the U.S. Women’s Open in June, she earned a first-place check of $1,800,000. So far this season, 22 players have crossed the $1 million mark in earnings.

Players take their best two scores from each Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, with the winners having the best average score to par at the end of the regular season. Only two events remain before a winner will be decided. Neither Lee nor Thitikul will be competing in Pelican LPGA Championship, Nov. 10-13, which means this is their final event to make a move.

2021 Amundi Evian Championship
Atthaya Thitikul looks on on the 6th hole during day two of the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Lee currently holds the lead with a season-long average score to par of -0.912. Thitikul, who just moved to No. 1 in the world, is at -0.891.

If Lee records two birdies this week, her season-long average would move to -0.917, requiring Thitikul to record an eagle and a birdie to tie her score.

If Lee makes a par and a birdie on the hole, her score will move down to -0.899.

Should Lee make a birdie and an eagle, she’d all but lock up the competition.

Thitikul could move into first place with a pair of eagles. A birdie and an eagle would move her to -0.917, which would tie Lee, should she record two birdies.

China’s Xiyu Lin is not in the field in Japan. She’ll need at least one eagle, possibly two, at the Pelican next week to have a chance.

Thitikul and Lee are tied for 12th on the LPGA in par-5 scoring at 4.62. Lin is second at 4.56 behind Jennifer Kupcho (4.54).

Previous winners of the Aon include Carlota Ciganda and Hannah Green. Scottie Scheffler won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge on the PGA Tour and the $1 million prize a year ago.

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LPGA Player of the Year race tightens with only four events left in 2022, and a rookie might steal the show

The Rolex LPGA Player of the Year race could once again turn into a doozie.

With four events left in the season, the Rolex LPGA Player of the Year race could once again turn into a doozie.

As it stands, the Rolex Annika Major Award winner Minjee Lee holds a 19-point lead over Brooke Henderson. Unlike the PGA Tour, the LPGA’s POY is based on a points system, with no player votes. A victory is worth 30 points and a second place is worth 12. A 10th-place finish is worth one point.

Points were doubled at the majors, which explains why four of the top six players in the standings are 2022 majors winners.

Jennifer Kupcho has won three times this season, but her victory with Lizette Salas at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational wasn’t eligible for POY points. She’s sixth on the list and trails Lee by 54 points.

Last season, Jin Young Ko had to win the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship to overtake Nelly Korda in the points race, and she did just that, earning an LPGA Hall of Fame point in the process. Ko won three of her last four starts to make a dramatic late-season push.

This year, both Ko and Korda have battled health issues and are T-10 and 43rd, respectively, in the POY standings.

Here’s a closer look at the top four in the running as the race winds down:

Here’s what Minjee Lee must do at this week’s AIG Women’s British Open to become World No. 1 for the first time

No Australian has been No. 1 since the rankings began in 2006.

Minjee Lee has dominated the majors of late, winning two of the last six with two additional top-5s. Coming into the second round of the AIG Women’s Open, the Aussie was a combined 58 under par since the 2021 Amundi Evian, 22 strokes better than the next player, Georgia Hall.

On Friday at Muirfield, Lee added a 1-under 70 to move to 4 under and take a share of the mid-day clubhouse lead with France’s Celine Boutier.

Currently No. 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Lee has a chance to move to No. 1 for the first time with a victory at Muirfield, with Jin Young Ko likely missing the cut at 5 over. Lee also could rise to No. 1 with a solo-second finish, should Ko finish 54th or worse and No. 3 Nelly Korda finish solo-third or worse.

No Aussie has been No. 1 since the rankings debuted in February 2006. South Korea’s Ko has been ranked No. 1 for 27 consecutive weeks dating to Jan. 31, 2022. She’s been No. 1 a total of 133 weeks in her career.

The laid-back Lee seems to take it all in stride.

“I definitely know where I am on the leaderboard playing,” said Lee. “I try not to think too much about the other stuff. I’m still the same person. I’m still going to, I hit a little white golf ball around a field. That’s always been my mindset, and whatever comes with it I’m going to embrace it and be the best person that I can be.”

Lee, 26, hit 14 greens in regulation Friday and took 32 putts. She carded 15 pars on the day.

An eight-time winner on the LPGA, Lee leads the tour in scoring (69.17), money ($3,426,980) and CME points. A two-time winner this season, she has three additional top-3 finishes.

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See how Jin Young Ko, Minjee Lee, Nelly Korda–the top three women in the world all grouped together–fared on historic day at Muirfield at AIG Women’s British Open

The top three players in the world spent the day making history at the 2022 AIG Women’s British Open.

The top three players in the world spent the day making history together at Muirfield as the first women’s professional event ever held at the iconic links course got underway. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko, No. 2 Minjee Lee and No. 3 Nelly Korda teed off in the afternoon local time at the 2022 AIG Women’s British Open, the final major of the year.

Two-time major winner Minjee Lee put up the best score in the group, a 3-under 68 that included a back-nine 32 and a chip-in on the 14th. Lee sits in a share of fifth, three shots back of leader Hinako Shibuno.

“I made really quite a few good up-and-downs on the back nine,” said the Aussie, “and to be 3 under the back nine, I think is quite good considering like 14 and 15, they play really tough.”

Lee hasn’t finished outside the top 11 in her last four appearances in the British Open. She took 27 putts on the day.

Korda’s 1-under 70 included two birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth. She’s six back of Shibuno and five back of big sister Jessica. The Olympic gold medalist hit seven fairways and 14 greens.

“I mean, I was hitting it good,” said Korda. “I was getting some unfortunate breaks in the bunkers. I was actually hitting it really decent out of those lies. I just couldn’t make the par putts after, which obviously that’s probably even more frustrating than probably having like a 20-footer for par and missing that.”

2022 AIG Women's Open
Nelly Korda tees off on the 13th hole during Day One of the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield on August 04, 2022 in Gullane, Scotland. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Jin Young Ko last missed a cut in a major at the 2018 British Open. She’ll have her work cut out on Friday to keep that streak alive. Ko sits in a share of 106th after an opening 76 that included only one birdie. Ko last competed in the British Open in 2019 and has two top-three finishes in the event. She hit only four fairways on the day and nine greens.

“We’re not familiar with having to see her work this hard on a golf course,” said former British Open champion and on-course commentator Karen Stupples.

The top 65 and ties advance to the weekend.

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Here are 10 players to watch at historic Muirfield, where the AIG Women’s British Open will be contested for the first time

Who’s going to capture the final women’s major of the year?

Whoever wins this week’s AIG Women’s British Open will forever hold a special place in women’s golf history. Three years ago, Muirfield, host of 16 men’s British Opens, invited its first female members in the club’s 275-year history.

The club was actually removed from the R&A’s rota of British Open host venues after a 2016 membership vote failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to change the rule to admit women.

The membership voted again in 2017 and pushed it through. Needless to say, the final major of 2022 carries great significance.

Jennifer Kupcho, winner of the first female event ever hosted at Augusta National, won the final Chevron Championship at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course to kick off major season. Minjee Lee’s dominant performance at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles followed.

Then, In Gee Chun nabbed her third different major at the KPMG Women’s PGA, and two weeks ago, the Amundi Evian saw Brooke Henderson snap a six-year drought between her first and second major titles.

Here’s a look at 10 players to keep an eye on at Muirfield:

Heartbreak for Lexi Thompson as In Gee Chun claims KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Lexi Thompson closes with a 73 but In Gee Chun survives after going 75-75 over the weekend.

BETHESDA, Md. – In the shadow of the nation’s capital, the LPGA’s most tortured American star suffered heartbreak once more at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Eight years after Lexi Thompson won her first major, she fell just short of her second.

The golf world held its collective breath for a woman who has experienced more heartbreak inside the ropes than anyone in recent memory. Thompson hadn’t won in 50 starts on the LPGA, and her penchant for short missed putts – the kind of jab that looks like a kid next to a hot stove – haunted her down the stretch.

In Gee Chun opened with a course-record 64 at the KPMG Women’s PGA to storm out to a five-shot lead after the first round. By early Saturday, she was seven clear of the field.

But that near perfect play began to unravel late Saturday and Chun slept on – only – a three-stroke lead in pursuit of her third different major title. Chun became an LPGA member after winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and then recorded the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history at the 2016 Amundi Evian Championship.

KPMG: Leaderboard | Photos

Shades of a runaway victory similar to Rory McIlroy’s at the 2011 U.S. Open covered Congressional until Sunday. Suddenly there was an anything-can-happen vibe with major champions Thompson, Hannah Green and Sei Young Kim within striking distance along with super rookies Hye-Jin Choi and Atthaya Thitikul.

Thompson struck fast, birdieing the first hole to cut the lead to two strokes and it wasn’t long before the American was in command as Chun came unraveled with a front-nine 40.

Thompson led by two with nine holes to play.

2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship
Lexi Thompson plays her shot from the fifth tee during the final round of the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports)

But the ghosts of short misses that have haunted her in pressure-packed moments came to visit on the back nine. A two-foot par putt on the 14th hole that never had a chance was the most egregious.

With Minjee Lee breathing down her back and the lead cut to one, Thompson poured in a statement birdie putt from just off the green on the 15th to push her lead to two with three to play.

A tournament that looked like the ending had been written at the halfway point suddenly had an endless supply of dramatic turns.

After a short miss for par on the 17th, Lee stuffed her approach on the 18th to post the clubhouse lead at 4 under.

Then Thompson made a mess of the par-5 16th, dropping four strokes with a series of miscues around the green to make bogey and fall into a tie with Chun at 5 under.

On the 18th, Thompson gave herself a birdie chance to tie Chun at 5 under, stuffing her approach to about 10 feet but Thompson didn’t hit a firm putt, leaving it short and right. She posted a final-round 73 to finish at 4 under.

Moments later, Chun had a four-footer for par for the championship and she made it to win her third different women’s major.

Chun shot 75-75 on the weekend yet pulled out the victory to break her 0-for-75 winless streak worldwide.

Thompson tied Lee for solo second, one shot back.

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U.S. Women’s Open: Minjee Lee cruises to second major title, earns $1.8 million prize

No one could mount a charge to challenge the elegant and unflappable Minjee Lee.

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — After three days of some of the lowest scoring in U.S. Women’s Open history, a fight broke out at Pine Needles.

Challenging hole locations, an uptick in wind and the biggest purse in women’s golf history finally brought things to a boil.

Only the battle wasn’t at the top, as no one could mount a charge to challenge the elegant and unflappable Minjee Lee, who entered the final round with a three-stroke lead and finished at 13 under, four ahead of American Mina Harigae to claim her second major title. The 26-year-old Lee became the first Australian to win the U.S. Women’s Open since Karrie Webb triumphed at Pine Needles 21 years ago.

When the Women’s Open was held here in 2001, World Golf Hall of Famer Peggy Kirk Bell, who won an LPGA major as an amateur and, along with her husband Warren “Bullet” Bell, built Pine Needles into what’s become a cathedral for women’s golf, invited Patty Berg, Louise Suggs and Kathy Whitworth to give a clinic.

The entire purse that week was $1.2 million, and Webb earned $212,500 for her efforts. Whitworth wrote in her memoir – The Gift of Golf – that it was money the legendary foursome couldn’t comprehend.

“We were amazed at the lifestyle these girls have on tour today,” Bell wrote. “They have babysitters, free meals and courtesy cars!”

What would Mrs. Bell have said then, of Lee’s $1.8 million payday, the largest in women’s golf history to date? (The winner of CME Group Tour Championship in November will earn $2 million.) Coming into this week, no one on the LPGA had crossed the $1 million mark so far this season.

The only real drama of the day centered on second place, as this marked the first time in women’s golf history that two women would earn seven-figure checks. As the back nine unfolded Sunday over the revamped Donald Ross design, three players—Lydia Ko, Hyejin Choi and Harigae—battled over a $1,080,000 paycheck.

Harigae, who only two years ago felt the walls closing in as she fought to keep her tour card and pay the bills, finished solo second. Her previous biggest payday on tour was $268,657.

Consider that while the LPGA took a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, Harigae won $2,300 for winning a mini-tour event on the Cactus Tour by 16 shots with a closing 61.

Choi was solo third at 7 under. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko shot a 71 on Sunday to claim solo fourth. Lydia Ko bogeyed her last two holes to shoot 72 and finish solo fifth. World No. 2 Nelly Korda, competing in her first event since early February after being sidelined with a blood clod that required surgery, finished with a 73 to tie for eighth.

Born in Perth, Australia, Lee was introduced to the game by her parents. Her mother, Clara, was a teaching professional near their home and her father was a fine player in his own right. Her younger brother Min Woo, 23, will compete in his first U.S. Open later this month at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. A two-time winner on the DP World Tour, Min Woo tied for 14th in his Masters debut in April, where Minjee caddied for him in the Par 3 Contest.

Minjee and Min Woo are the only brother-sister pair to win USGA titles, with Minjee winning the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior and Min Woo claiming the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur.

Lee now has eight LPGA titles worldwide, including the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship, where she came from an LPGA record-tying seven strokes back to win in a playoff.

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Minjee Lee jumps out to three-stroke lead at U.S. Women’s Open over rising American Mina Harigae

She’s the first Aussie to lead this championship through 54 holes since Karrie Webb in 2001 – at Pine Needles.

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. — When Travis Kreiter arrived on the 13th tee at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club with fiancé Mina Harigae, he figured it was time for a pep talk.

Hey, this is the U.S. Open. You never know what’s going to happen.

Harigae held a one-stroke lead when she walked off the ninth green on Saturday at the 77th U.S. Women’s Open. By the time she got to that 13th tee, however, she trailed Minjee Lee by four.

“In the past, the round could’ve gotten away from us after 12,” said Kreiter, who has caddied for Harigae for over four years now.

Instead, Harigae enters the final round three back of Lee, a world-class ball-striker and major champion who won the most recent stroke-play event on the LPGA, the Cognizant Founders Cup held last month.

Beating Lee remains a tall order for anyone in the field, though Harigae is the only one within shouting distance. Bronte Law posted a third-round 68 to get to 7 under, but she’s six back of Lee, who at 13-under 200 sits poised to break the all-time scoring record of 16 under, set by Juli Inkster at Old Waverly Golf Club in 1999. A seemingly unflappable Lee carded a 67 on a near-perfect day amidst the Carolina pines.

Mina Harigae confers with her caddie at the 14th hole during the first round at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)

When asked if she could remember another time when she was in this kind of position, Lee said, “No, it’s the U.S. Open.”

Lee put the pedal down with birdies on Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 12, all from 13 feet or less. She’s the first Aussie to lead this championship through 54 holes since Karrie Webb in 2001 – at Pine Needles.

Lee, the No. 4-ranked player in the world, didn’t think to ask Webb for advice ahead of this championship but said she has enjoyed seeing her mentor’s picture up all over the place here. Webb did send her a text message yesterday that said, “Keep it going, let’s go Aussie.”

Lee has a bit of history on her side, too, as the man by her side this week, Jason Gilroyed, caddied for Cristie Kerr when she won at Pine Needles in 2007.

A seven-time winner on the LPGA, Lee looks to move closer to World No. 1. Harigae, meanwhile, is a thirty-something who hasn’t yet won on the LPGA let alone a major. It was just a few years ago that she was running out of money fast, fighting to keep her tour card.

Last year at the AIG Women’s British Open at Carnoustie, Harigae held a share of the lead going into the weekend at Carnoustie. She shot 76 on Saturday to fall out of contention, ultimately finishing tied for 13th.

But her strong play earned her a captain’s pick at last year’s Solheim Cup, and Kreiter said the experience at Inverness on a pressure-packed stage played a significant role in handling her nerves this week. Even the 5-and-4 singles loss to Celine Boutier, he said, was a good learning experience.

After bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12, Harigae stuffed her tee shot on the par-3 16th to two feet to give herself a better chance on Sunday.

Harigae has been pleased with how she has handled herself emotionally this week, saying she’s a different player than she was in her 20s.

How did she get there?

“Just a lot of self-awareness, a lot of butt-kicking from my caddie,” she said with a smile. “A lot of good hard talks. But I just realized if I wanted to get to the next level, I really had to get a hold of myself emotionally.”

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