Minjee Lee keeps cool to bag third Major title
Australian Minjee Lee captured her third Major title with a composed victory at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship on Sunday.
Lee carded a closing two-over-par 74 at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco for a tournament total of four-under-par 284, three shots ahead of American Auston Kim and Thailand's Chanettee Wannasaen. This was Lee's first victory on the LPGA Tour since the 2023 BMW Ladies Championship.
Earlier rounds of 69, 72 and 69 had given Lee a four-shot lead over Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul heading into the final day. Although the chasing pack managed to narrow the deficit to two shots at various stages, the Australian handled the pressure and windy conditions with poise to seal the win with five bogeys and three birdies.
'It feels pretty amazing. I feel like I really deserve this one. I put a lot of hard work into it. I had to really dig deep for today's score, but I feel like I was pretty solid over the four days to have this trophy in my hand now,' said Lee, whose previous Major wins came at the 2022 U.S. Women's Open presented by Ally and The Amundi Evian Championship in 2021.
Kim and Wannasaen both shot solid 68s to move up the leaderboard into a share of second place on one-under-par 287, two shots clear of Thitikul and Japan's Chisato Iwai.
World No. 2 Thitikul, who had led the first and second rounds, had disappointing weekend scores of 76 and 75 to settle for joint fourth place with Iwai on one-over-par 289. The popular Thai star has won five times on the LPGA Tour but is still hunting for a maiden Major title.
Lee's first LPGA Tour win since the 2023 BMW Ladies Championship took her title tally to 11. The 29-year-old now needs to win the AIG Women's Open or The Chevron Championship to complete the career Grand Slam.
Lee is the third Australian to win three or more Major championships, joining Karrie Webb (7) and Jan Stephenson (3). The KPMG Women's PGA Championship has now been won by four Australians– Lee (2025), Hannah Green (2019), Webb (2001) and Stephenson (1982).
'It's just really special. Only three other names on this trophy are Australian, so I think it's such a great privilege to be able to have my name with them as well. I guess it shows the grit of the Aussies,' noted Lee.
The next stop for the LPGA Tour is Midland Country Club in Michigan for this week's two-player team format Dow Championship. This will be followed by a one-week break before the players head across the Atlantic for the tour's much-awaited European swing, which includes the final two Majors of the 2025 season – The Amundi Evian Championship (July 10-13) at Evian Resort in France and the AIG Women's Open (July 31-August 3) at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Norris savours finding 'the old me' in taking pole at Austrian GP
SPIELBERG, Austria: Lando Norris celebrated a personal moment to savour on Saturday by claiming a dominant pole position for McLaren at the Austrian Grand Prix, ending a fortnight of self-recrimination since colliding with team-mate Oscar Piastri in Canada. The 25-year-old Briton, who ended Max Verstappen's run of five consecutive poles at the Red Bull Ring circuit owned by his team, delivered a stunning late lap in one minute and 3.971 seconds to outpace Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by half-a-second. Verstappen, frustrated by a yellow flag when Pierre Gasly spun in his Alpine, qualified seventh. "I did what I planned to do and when I plan to do something and it goes right, it normally goes very, very well," said Norris who told the team on radio that it was "nice to see the old me back now and then!" "I am very happy – a good day and it's been a good weekend for me so far. So, hopefully we can keep it up. "It's a long season. So, I savour this moment, especially because some of my tougher moments have been in qualifying and to put a lap in like today and performance like this weekend, like I have, is pleasing for myself. He added that he had enjoyed a feeling "that I have missed for quite a long time in terms of performance and lap time and it is the best feeling that a driver can ask for." Norris said the team had been working hard to support and guide him and he's "been working hard in the simulator so to get there and to move in the right direction is reassuring for myself and for the rest of the team." Norris had arrived in Spielberg under pressure to atone for his error in Montreal and reboot his challenge for the drivers' championship in which he is 22 points behind leader and team-mate Piastri, who was third in qualifying on Saturday. The 24-year-old Australian was frustrated at being unable to complete a second flying lap in Q3 but determined to improve and challenge at the front. "For me, it's the fact that I didn't get to start (the lap), that was the problem. I had Gasly's spin at the last corner, so I didn't even open my second lap," he said. "Lando has been very quick all weekend, and it would've been a tough challenge, but I think we easily had enough pace in the car this weekend to be on the front row. "It's always a shame when you don't even get the chance, but we can still have a good race from there. Sometimes it's just not your day." However, the Melbourne-native still has his eye on claiming his sixth Grand Prix win of the season on Sunday. "Our pace this weekend has looked very strong. The Ferrari pace looked good as well, which was a bit of a surprise," he said.
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Motor racing-Norris fastest in final Austrian GP practice
Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - June 28, 2025 McLaren's Lando Norris REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki SPIELBERG, Austria (Reuters) -McLaren wrapped up practice for the Austrian Grand Prix with Lando Norris leading Formula One leader Oscar Piastri in another one-two at the top of the timesheets ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Norris, second overall and 22 points behind Piastri after 10 of the season's 24 races, lapped the Red Bull Ring with a best time of one minute 04.324 seconds and 0.118 quicker than the Australian. Verstappen was 0.210 off the pace, with a big spin at the last corner at the end of the session, and was followed by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth. McLaren have topped two of the three sessions, with Mercedes' George Russell fastest in the opening one on Friday but sixth on a much warmer Saturday and getting hotter. "That's why it went a little bit belly-up for us. We were quite competitive until the end and then you can see really it goes above a certain threshold of temperature and we lose performance," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports television. "The McLarens in high-speed (corners) is going to be very difficult to match. "We changed the balance a bit yesterday and that was in a direction that wasn't so perfect. It came back more today but then the track temperature developed so drastically during the session, we went from 33 degrees to 42 and that makes a big difference." Mercedes had Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli seventh, ahead of Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10. Norris was also fastest in Friday's second session and is looking determined after drawing a blank in Canada two weeks ago when he collided with Piastri. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
New Straits Times
10 hours ago
- New Straits Times
The Postecoglou connection to Harimau Malaya
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's rise on the international football stage is shaped by a coach connected to the vaunted Ange Postecoglou. Peter Cklamovski, who used to work with Postecoglou in the Australian national team, has revitalised Harimau Malaya since coming to Kuala Lumpur in January. Cklamovski has not only changed Malaysia's playing style, but also chalked up an impressive winning record in competitive matches. His tactical approach reflects Europa League winner Postecoglou's commitment to fluid, attacking football built on intense pressing and positional discipline. "Cklamovski is a prodigy of Postecoglou. It's no coincidence the type of coach that has now come in, especially when you look at how Malaysia want to play," said former Australian international Scott Ollerenshaw, who has been involved in the development of Malaysian football for over two decades. Cklamovski's methods also align with the footballing philosophy of the Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who has long championed a modern, possession-based game in Malaysian football, primarily through his work at Johor Darul Ta'zim. "Having been around Tunku Ismail a lot, I know he wants to play a certain style of football. He doesn't want the old-fashioned English style of long balls. He wants a short-passing, possession-based game, and he's been successful with it," said Ollerenshaw. "In my opinion, Tunku Ismail can find people who can sync with that style. There's no point in bringing in quality players and then playing a rigid 4-4-2 and punting the ball forward. That was never going to work." Under Cklamovski, Malaysia recorded back-to-back wins in Asian Cup qualifiers: 2-0 against Nepal in March and 4-0 against Vietnam earlier this month. The triumph over Vietnam was significant, as it marked Malaysia's first win against the Southeast Asian powerhouse in 11 years. Harimau Malaya now show better structure, fluidity, and intent, characteristics that have long been missing from the national team.
