Golf: Australia will have two major champions in Tokyo after Minjee Lee’s stunning win in the Evian Championship
It took a record-equalling comeback, but Minjee Lee is no longer the best player never to win a major.
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Australia will have two major champions in green and gold at the Olympics after a stunning Sunday from Minjee Lee in France secured her the Evian Championship and the perfect lead in to Tokyo.
Lee, 25, equalled the best come-from-behind victory in a major, starting the day seven shots off the lead of South Korea’s Jeongeun Lee6, eventually beating her in a playoff to join Olympic teammate Hannah Green on the major winners list.
“I‘m speechless. I been waiting for this for so long. It just feels unreal to have won. Just even in the playoff, and all throughout today, I played really well to get myself in that position, and I just really happy,” said Lee, winning three weeks after her brother Min Woo won the Scottish Open.
I had the throne such a long time.... I guess I gotta get off my butt and go practice. Congrats big sis. ðŸ†âœ… first major. Love to see it. #famiLEE@minjeegolf see you soon 🾠https://t.co/pwKtlFlnN3
— Min Woo Lee (@Minwoo27Lee) July 25, 2021
The West Australian, who has been as high as number two in the world rankings and was regarded as the best current player not to win a major, carded a flawless final round 64 and briefly held a two-shot lead when she made a fourth birdie in the last five holes on the 18th.
Lee6, already a major champion, had compounded early in the final round, dropping five shots through the opening seven hold to lose the huge lead she had over the field.
She recovered coming home and birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th to force extra holes.
Munching on a nectarine as she waited for the playoff, Lee returned to the 18th for sudden death, stiffed her approach to inside three metres, and when her opponent found the water, the tournament was done.
The Australian said she had put a lot of pressure on herself to win a major, so there was major relief.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, and I hear so many people say, ‘We really want to you win a major and a major is just around the corner’,” she said.
“It’s easier said than done, and everybody is so good out here. It’s just really nice to have a major title under my belt. It’s just, I always have high expectations for myself, so maybe in that sense, yes.”
Lee said she was trying to stay “chill” before the playoff, with a major title on the line.
“I kept nibbling on my nectarine, so it must have looked so bad on camera,” she said.
“I just felt good. I just hit … rolled a couple putts and I was just kind of calm.”
It was Lee’s 37th major start, and her previous best was third – a result she had achieved twice.
Lee becomes just the fourth Australian woman to win a major after Karrie Webb, Jan Stephenson and Green, the 2019 Women’s PGA champion who will join her at the Olympics.
“You know, it’s so cool. I still can’t believe it,” she said
“The Olympics have been on the back of my mind since Rio, so I’m really excited to play and go out there and rep my country.”
Originally published as Golf: Australia will have two major champions in Tokyo after Minjee Lee’s stunning win in the Evian Championship
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