Minjee Lee shed the title of best-player-to-not-win-a-major on the LPGA Tour in dramatic fashion Sunday at The Amundi Evian Championship.
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Lee, who will represent Australia in the Olympics in two weeks, shot a 7-under 64 to come from seven shots back to win her first major title. Overcoming a seven-shot deficit to win a major tied an LPGA Tour record.
Lee, who defeated Jeongeun Lee6 on the first playoff hole, finished at 18-under par for the week.
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Lee6 had a five-shot lead at one point on Sunday over her next-closest competitor but made five bogeys in her first nine holes. She bounced back impressively on the back nine, making three-straight birdies on No’s 16-18 to get into a playoff with Lee.
“I feel just no good. But I tried my best, but results is no good,” said Lee6. “But back nine it was new nine, so I kept telling ‘I could do it, yeah, I could make it.’”
Still, it was too little, too late. Lee didn’t make a bogey for her last 29 holes of the championship and finally won her first major after losing in two previous playoffs and notching five previous LPGA Tour titles.
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“I’m speechless,” said Lee. “I been waiting for this for so long. It just feels unreal to have won. Just even in the playoff, and all throughout today, I played really well to get myself in that position, and I just really happy.”
Lee said her father, mother, and grandmother were all watching her back in Australia and said they were “really happy” but “a little teary” as well. It was a big moment for Lee, who joins three other Australian women (Karrie Webb, Hannah Green, and Jan Stephenson) as major winners.
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“I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, and I hear so many people say, ‘We really want to you win a major and major is just around the corner.’ It’s easier said than done, and everybody is so good out here,” said Lee. “It’s just really nice to have a major title under my belt.”
Golf Town Athlete Brooke Henderson finished tied for 25th. This was her sixth time playing The Evian Championship and she has finished outside the top 25 only once in her career.
It was another very solid effort by Brooke at a major, who said the key to her week would have been getting off to a good start. She did just that, shooting a 2-under 69 on Thursday. She added another 69 on Friday and back-to-back rounds of 1-under 70 on the weekend.
A highlight for Brooke on Sunday was making an eagle on the par-5 18th closing hole.
Up next for Brooke is playing the LPGA Tour event in Northern Ireland next week and then off to the Olympics to play for Canada alongside Alena Sharp!