Appropriately enough, the winner, at 6-under, of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open was Jeongeun Lee6.
No, that’s not a typo. In fact, Lee6 wants to be called ‘Six’ and no, she’s not from Toronto.
There were five other golfers named “Jeongeun Lee” on the Korean LPGA Tour, and she decided to separate herself by adding the number six to her last name.
But no one is going to mistake her for anyone else now after winning the biggest tournament in women’s golf.
Lee6 shot a 1-under-par 70 Sunday to win the U.S. Women’s Open by two shots over Angel Yin, So Yeon Ryu, and Lexi Thompson.
She’s been the LPGA Tour’s top rookie so far this year – after being the medalist at the inaugural LPGA Q-Series in the fall – and this victory put an emphatic stamp on her first LPGA Tour season.
“All my shots were pretty good, and every time, if I made a bogey, I felt calm because I knew I would play well (later),” Lee6 said through a translator.
Lee6 won $1-million for the first-place prize, the biggest in women’s major championship golf.
She said she felt nervous coming down the stretch as she bogeyed hole No’s 16 and 18 to come back to the field. Celine Boutier, who co-led after 54 holes, had a chance to tie Lee6’s final score with a birdie on the 72nd hole, but made double bogey on 18.
Thompson was looking for her first LPGA Tour victory this season and started the day just one shot back. She played with fellow Floridian and good friend Jaye Marie Green, who ended up T-5 – her best-career finish on the LPGA Tour.
But the day belonged to Lee6.
She broke down in tears during the trophy presentation and could barely make it through her thank-you messaging. And although she speaks little English, her manager/translator was so emotional she broke down as well.
“She couldn’t imagine coming so far and winning her first LPGA tournament and a major championship,” her manager Jennifer Kim said, through tears. “I’m just really proud of her and how she played. She worked so hard.”
Golf Town athlete Brooke Henderson was the lone Canadian to find the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open.
She took to Twitter after Saturday’s third round to say how happy she was, after a 2-under 69, to have gained a few strokes back at the very difficult Country Club of Charleston. Although she struggled Sunday to a 4-over 75, Henderson remains cemented in the top-10 in the world.
Fellow Canadians Megan Osland, Naomi Ko, and amateur Celeste Dao missed the cut.
The LPGA Tour heads to New Jersey next week for the 54-hole Shoprite LPGA Classic.