Minjee Lee is a professional golfer from Australia. She turned pro in 2014 but prior to that, she was the number one ranked amateur golfer. Her first major championship win was in 2021 when she won the Evian Championship. She followed this in 2022 by winning the LPGA Tour’s US Women’s Open. As of June 6, 2022, she is ranked No.4 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Player Profile and Personal Life
Minjee Lee was born on May 27, 1996, to parents Soonam and Clara Lee, who were from Korea. Both of her parents immigrated to Australia in the 90s and Minjee was born in Perth.
| Height / weight | 1.65 m / 60 kg |
| Born | 27 Mar 1996 |
| Nationality |
Australia
|
| Official Site | http://minjeegolf |
Minjee is not the only golfer in the family. Her younger brother Min Woo Lee also plays and he won the 2016 US Junior Amateur Championship. This makes Minjee and Min Woo the first brother and sister pairing to have won the USGA junior championship.
Amateur Career
Lee had a number of career-defining wins when she was a junior. This includes her 2012 US Girl’s Junior championship win. The next year, she won the Australian Women’s Amateur, a title she defended in 2014.
On February 26, 2014, she became the World’s no.1 Amateur golfer. This is after she took home the prize at the Oates Victorian Open. She held the number one until she turned pro in September of that year when she helped the Australian team win the Espirito Santo Trophy.
Professional Career
2015 was her rookie year on the LPGA Tour. In that time, she won the Kingsmill Championship. In April 2016, she went on to win the Lotte Championship. Also in 2016, she won the Blue Bay LPGA tournament.
By the end of 2018, she had won the LPGA Volvik Championship and she was awarded the Greg Norman Medal. She also finished the year No.2 on the earning list. In 2019, she won the Hugel-Air Permia LA Open. And in May 2019, she was ranked No.2 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Her first major championship win came in 2021 when she won the Amundi Evian Championship. In 2022, she won her eighth LPGA Tour event, the US Women’s Open. She took home US$1.8 million.
In addition to her professional career, she has also represented Australia at the Olympics. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, she finished in a tie for 7th place. She also played at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Career Highlights
Number of Wins by Tour
- LPGA Tour - 8
- Ladies European Tour - 2
- ALPG Tour – 2
Best Results in LPGA Major Championships
- ANA Inspiration - T3: 2017
- Women’s PGA C’ship - T12: 2016
- U.S. Women’s Open - Won: 2022
- Women’s British Open - 3rd 2020
- Evian Championship - Won: 2021
Achievements and Awards
- Greg Norman Medal - 2018
