Minjee Lee of Australia celebrates after beating Alison Lee of the United States in a playoff during the final round of the BMW Ladies Championship. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Australia’s top lady golfer Minjee Lee took her LPGA Tour title tally to double digits with her 10th career victory at the US$2.2 million BMW Ladies Championship.
Lee had opened her campaign with a superb eight-under-par 64 at Seowon Valley Country Club in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She followed up with rounds of 69 and 71 to jointly hold the 54-hole lead. The 27-year-old signed off with a 68 for a 16-under-par 272 total, which was matched by Alison Lee of the United States who made up one shot with a closing 67.
The ensuing playoff saw the Australian prevail on the first extra hole, draining a six-footer for birdie after her American opponent had missed from 12 feet.
The victory was extra special for Lee due to her Korean roots. Her parents had emigrated to Australia from Korea in the early 1990s, and there was a sizeable number of Lee’s extended family members who turned up to cheer her on.
“This one is special, and especially having all my family and extended family and friends coming out to cheer for me today. It was really cool to see them on the sidelines when I was walking down. It was great that I was able to win today,” said Lee, whose 10 LPGA titles include two Majors at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open.
Just the week before, Lee’s younger brother Min Woo had powered his way to a two-shot victory at the Asian Tour’s SJM Macao Open with a stunning 30-under-par total.
“Yeah, obviously it was great to see Min Woo win. I follow him every single event. I mean, I’d never say it to his face, but if he plays well I’m always really proud of him,” shared Lee.
This was Lee’s second win of the 2023 LPGA Tour season with her first coming in early September at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, also in a playoff where she defeated England’s Charley Hull on the second extra hole. Lee is the third player from Australia to reach double digits in LPGA Tour victories, joining Jan Stephenson (16) and Karrie Webb (41).
Having been World No. 2 before, Lee stressed that her goal was to reach the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. “I still haven’t been able to reach World No. 1 yet. So that is the goal for me and that is where I want to reach.
“I think I’ve got to put in a little bit more work to get there. Golf, you never know what’s going to happen, so I’m going to try and do it in the years that I can. Hopefully, I can do it in the next few years,” she said.
Former World No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand finished solo third at 14-under-par, while American Angel Yin – coming off her victorious week at the Buick LPGA Shanghai – was fourth a shot further back.
Malaysian golf fans can catch the stars of the LPGA Tour in action at this week’s US$3 million Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club. The field includes six Malaysians in Kelly Tan, who is Maybank’s ASEAN Ambassador, 2023 Epson Tour Rookie of the Year Natasha Andrea Oon, Ashley Lau, Alyaa Abdulghany, and amateur talents Jeneath Wong and Ng Jing Xuen.
| Results (Top 5 and ties) | ||
| 272 (-16) | Minjee Lee (AUS) | 64-69-71-68 |
| Alison Lee (USA) | 63-72-70-67 | |
| Minjee Lee won on first playoff hole | ||
| 274 (-14) | Lydia Ko (NZL) | 67-69-69-69 |
| 275 (-13) | Angel Yin (USA) | 69-68-71-67 |
| 276 (-12) | Jodi Ewart Shadoff (ENG) | 65-73-73-65 |
| Jeongeun Lee6 (KOR) | 68-68-73-67 | |
| Atthaya Thitikul (THA) | 70-71-66-69 | |
| Jiyai Shin (KOR) | 69-71-67-69 | |
| Celine Boutier (FRA) | 66-72-68-70 | |
