Australian overseas Korean Minjee Lee is baptized with champagne by her teammates after winning the BMW Ladies Championship on the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour in a playoff with U.S. compatriot Alison Lee on Sunday at Seowon Hills Country Club in Paju, South Korea.
Australian overseas Korean Minjee Lee, 27, has won the BMW Ladies Championship on the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour in a playoff.
Lee shot a 4-under 68 with five birdies and a bogey in the final round of the tournament at the par-72 Seowon Hills Country Club in Paju, South Korea, on Sunday. For a final total of 16-under-par 272, Lee birdied the 18th hole (par-4) in a playoff with American compatriot Allison Lee (28), who finished at par. Lee, who recorded her first win of the season at the Kroger Queen City Championship on Nov. 11, added another victory in 41 days to reach 10 wins on tour. With the $330,000 first-place prize, Lee has now earned $1,524,750 on the season.
Lee, who also defeated Allison Lee in the final of the 2012 U.S. Women's Junior Championship as a junior, won the LPGA Tour's first extra-round matchup on Korean soil in 11 years. Lee was denied her first win in her 177th LPGA Tour event. Lee's best finish in an LPGA Tour event was a runner-up finish at the 2016 KEB Hana Bank Championship in South Korea, where she lost in a playoff to Carlota Zaragoza (Spain).
Lee earned her first victory in her parents' homeland of South Korea. Lee's two runner-up finishes at the Hana Financial Group Championship on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, a major sponsored event, were her best results in South Korea. "My parents are Korean and my roots are in South Korea, so it's the place I've always wanted to win the most," Lee said. "When I walked back up to the teeing area for the overtime playoff, it was weird and great to see all my friends and family there."
Defending champion Lydia Ko, 26, of New Zealand, finished tied for third at 14-under 274. Shin Ji-ae, 35, and Lee Jeong, 27, were the best South Korean finishers, tying for fifth at 12-under par 276. Amateur Seo Jin Park (15), a junior at Seomun Girls' Middle School, finished tied for 13th at 10-under par 278. 토토사이트