Dallas resident Minjee Lee captured her third career major title on Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, winning by three shots over Epson Tour graduate Auston Kim and two-time LPGA Tour winner Chanettee Wannasaen to collect her first victory on the LPGA Tour since the 2023 BMW Ladies Championship.
Lee put on a masterclass of composure during the final round at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, handling the late-tournament pressure with poise to ultimately post a 2-over 74, a more than respectable score that saw her make five bogeys and three birdies in firm, windy conditions in Frisco, Texas.
The 29-year-old began the day at 6-under with a four-shot lead over Jeeno Thitikul, an advantage that was extended to five when the Thailand native bogeyed the first hole. Lee dropped a shot on the par-5 3rd hole, but she maintained her five-stroke lead when Thitikul also made a bogey to slip back to even par. The Australian made another bogey on the fifth hole to cut her lead to four, and she then bogeyed six to fall to 3-under, now just three strokes ahead of five-time LPGA Tour winner Thitikul.
Meanwhile, Kim was making a run at the top of the leaderboard, rattling off three straight birdies on the par-4 7th, par-3 8th and par-5 9th holes to go from 1-over to 1-under and move within two of two-time major champion Lee. Thitikul then made her first birdie of the day on the ninth hole to tie Kim at 1-under and sit two behind Lee, who was holding steady at 3-under.
Playing a couple of groups ahead, Thitikul’s fellow countrywoman Wannasaen tied her and Kim after eagling the drivable, par-4 15th hole to get to 1-under overall and then broke even on 16 and 17, going bogey-birdie to remain at 1-under for the tournament, a position in which she eventually finished after carding a final-round 68.
The 13th hole gave the final group some fits, with Lee making a critical nine-foot par save to remain at 3-under and two shots ahead of Kim and Wannasaen and Thitikul making bogey, one that ultimately took her out of the conversation. The 22-year-old closed her week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a 3-over 75, finishing in a tie for fourth at 1-over overall.
Lee looked as steady as ever coming down the final few holes at Fields Ranch East, burying a 9-footer on 14 to get back to 4-under and getting up and down for birdie on 15 to climb to 5-under and lead by four with three holes remaining. She stumbled with a bogey on the par-4 16th hole to slip back to 4-under, but that late mistake didn’t matter. A pair of routine pars on 17 and 18 were all Lee needed to polish off her 11th career victory and earn her third different major title, putting the Aussie one win away from the Career Grand Slam.
“It feels pretty amazing,” Lee said. “I feel like I really deserve this one. I put a lot of hard work into it. I feel really good.”
With her victory at Fields Ranch East, Lee becomes the fourth woman from Australia to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, joining Hannah Green (2019), Jan Stephenson (1982) and Karrie Webb (2001), and is the third Aussie to collect three or more major titles on the LPGA Tour alongside Webb (7) and Stephenson (3).
The Aussie LPGA contingency all have a deep appreciation for their fellow athletes’ accomplishments, and considering that Webb and Stephenson are both World Golf Hall of Famers and Green is one of her best friends on Tour, Lee couldn’t have been more grateful that her third career major came this week just outside her adopted hometown in Texas.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Lee said while looking at the trophy in her winning press conference. “All of them are such great golfers, great careers. Obviously, Hannah is still on Tour with me, so it’s also great to have a friend who has won this trophy. I think it’s great to be able to have my name up with them. It’s pretty cool.”
Green was among the host of players who were on the 18th green to douse Lee in celebratory champagne, knowing exactly what her friend was feeling when hoisting the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy, having done it herself at Hazeltine. Green and Lee will now share the stage as defending champions next year at that same venue, as Lee will be defending the championship title and Green will be looking to win a second major title at that golf course, which hasn’t hosted a women’s major since that KPMG Women’s PGA six years ago.
And even though she would have loved to have been in Lee’s position on Sunday afternoon, Green was incredibly excited for Minjee, understanding just how much this victory meant to her fellow countrywoman and how hard she battled to get to this moment.
“She’s come close in many majors before,” Green said. “The U.S. (Women’s) Open probably hurt her a little bit last year, probably added some more fuel to the fire, so it’s amazing to have her name on another trophy. She’s obviously proved herself with her new putter. She’s putted amazing this week. I hope she’s able to enjoy it because it was a really tough week, mentally more than physically. I think all of us are pretty knackered. Super proud of her.”
Kim and Wannasaen finished in a tie for second at 1-under overall after both matched the low 18-hole score of the tournament with their final-round 68s. The T2 is each athlete’s career-best finish in a major championship, which is a pretty strong accomplishment considering the brevity of their young careers, and Kim and Wannasaen couldn’t have been prouder of their respective efforts at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“Feeling pretty good,” said Kim. “Obviously, the result was really good, but I’m really happy how I handled myself, my emotions, all the adversity. The course is playing really, really tough, but I feel like this week my team and I were very locked in, and we focused on all the right things. The result took care of itself.”
Japan’s Chisato Iwai tied for fourth alongside Rolex Rankings No. 2 Thitikul, while Miyu Yamashita and Angel Yin finished in a tie for sixth. Republic of Korea natives Hye-Jin Choi and Somi Lee tied for eighth at 3-over and Wei-Ling Hsu and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard shared 10th at 4-over. Defending champion Amy Yang missed the cut.
