Minjee Lee
Minjee Lee is an Australian professional golfer from Perth. She became the number one ranked amateur golfer in February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open, remaining number one until turning professional in September 2014.
Amateur career
In 2010, Lee became the youngest winner of the WA Amateur Open while still a year 9 student at Methodist Ladies' College, Perth. At the start of 2012, she was moved from MLC to Corpus Christi College, to be closer to her golf course at Royal Fremantle Golf Club. She left Corpus Christi in 2013.Lee was the winner of the 2012 U.S. Girls' Junior. She won the Australian Women's Amateur in 2013 and successfully defended the title in 2014.
Lee became the number one ranked amateur golfer on 26 February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open on the ALPG Tour. She remained the number one ranked amateur golfer until she turned professional in September 2014 after leading the Australia team that won the Espirito Santo Trophy.
Professional career
On 18 May 2015, Lee gained her first LPGA Tour victory - the Kingsmill Championship. In 2016, she won the Lotte Championship in April, and the Blue Bay LPGA tournament in October. Lee represented Australia in the women's golf competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, finishing in a tie for 7th.In April 2018, she lost the LPGA Mediheal Championship in a playoff to Lydia Ko, then on 27 May 2018, won the LPGA Volvik Championship. Lee finished 2018 ranked second on the money list with $1,551,032 in earnings, finishing second in scoring average with 69.75 shots per round. She also became the first woman to win the Greg Norman Medal for being the best Australian professional golfer on the world stage.
On 28 April 2019, Lee won the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, her fifth LPGA Tour victory. By late the following month, she had risen to number two in the Women's World Golf Rankings, but in her home country she still had such a low profile that she was described by The Age as the "Invisible Champion of Australia".
Personal life
Lee's younger brother, Min Woo Lee, won the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, making them the first brother/sister pair to win the USGA's junior championships.Amateur wins
- 2010 Western Australia Women's Amateur
- 2011 Handa Junior Masters, Western Australia Women's Amateur, Singapore Ladies Amateur, Srixon International Junior Classic, Tasmanian Stroke Play Championship
- 2012 U.S. Girls' Junior, Tasmanian Stroke Play Championship
- 2013 Australian Women's Amateur, Western Australia Women's Amateur, Rene Erichsen Salver, Australian Girls' Amateur, Dunes Medal
- 2014 Australian Women's Amateur
Professional wins (7)
LPGA Tour (5)
LPGA Tour playoff recordNo. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 2018 | LPGA Mediheal Championship | Lydia Ko | Lost to eagle on first extra hole |
2 | 2019 | Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA | Nelly Korda Caroline Masson | Korda won with birdie on first extra hole |
ALPG Tour wins (2)
^ Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.Results in LPGA majors
Results not in chronological order before 2019.LA = Low amateur
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
T = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 10
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
LPGA Tour career summary
World rank
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.Year | World ranking | Source |
2015 | 18 | |
2016 | 17 | |
2017 | 19 | |
2018 | 6 | |
2019 | 9 | |
2020 | 8 ^ |
^ As of 10 February 2020
Team appearances
Amateur
- Espirito Santo Trophy : 2012, 2014
Professional
- International Crown : 2014, 2016, 2018