Two wins in four starts have propelled Minjee Lee into rare golfing air

Minjee Lee is closing in on two major career achievements after putting on the afterburners in the second half of 2023.

Australia’s Minjee Lee has her sights set on the world No.1 ranking. Picture: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Minjee Lee never felt like she was playing badly, even as the weekly top 10 finishes the golfing world had been accustomed to failed to materialise early in 2023.

The two-time major winner, who spent most of 2022 ranked second in the world, dropped to 12, her lowest ranking in more than two years, as recently as August on the back of just two finishes better than 13th in 13 events.

But Lee, who rates her capacity to move on from disappointment, be it during a round or after a tournament, quickly, was adamant the turnaround would come.

Just two months later and with two wins from her past four starts on the LPGA tour, including last weekend’s BMW Championship in Korea, Lee is back to No.4 in the world with a key career goal now within her reach.

“I still haven‘t been able to reach world No.1 yet, so that is the goal for me and that is where I want to reach,” she said.

“I’ve got to put in a little bit more work to get there.

“Golf, you never know what‘s going to happen. I’m going to try and do it in the years that I can, so hopefully I can do it in the next few.”

Australia's Minjee Lee celebrates her victory at the BMW Ladies Championship. Picture: Jung Yeon-je / AFP

Lee could have won three of her past four events too, having finished runner-up in Korea the week after her 2023 breakthrough win at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati in September.

Making cuts has never been an issue for Lee, who is 17 from 17 this year, but now she’s back to her winning ways, the 27-year-old from Perth said she had refound the “trust” in her game.

“The whole year I didn’t really feel like my game was too far away, but it was like I had two good rounds and two average rounds,” she said.

“It was like getting everything together was a little bit harder for the first three-quarters of the year, I guess,” she said.

“And obviously Kroger, and I think that really helped me with my confidence and just a little bit more trust in my game, my putting, and pretty much all aspects of my game. I feel like I’m doing well now, but I feel like it wasn’t really that far away.”

Lee is just the third Australian to win 10 LPGA events. Picture: Jung Yeon-je / AFP

Lee became just the third Australian to win 10 LPGA events, joining Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson, and could soon enter the top 10 for all-time earnings on the tour

Her career total of $21.72m has her 11th and $135,000 behind the 10th-placed Lexi Thompson with four events to go this year before she returns home for the Australian Open.

Having found the right balance in her life as a professional, Lee could race up the list over the next few years as purses continue to grow.

“I actually have a really great (life) balance now because I know what I like and the routine that I do at the golf course which works for me and my body,” she said.

“But in terms of the person that I want to be, I’ve always had this motto: I want to leave the LPGA Tour or the game of golf better than I found it, so that is my goal after I retire.”

LPGA ALL-TIME MONEY LIST

1 Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) $35,654,709

2 Karrie Webb (Australia) $32,039,180

3 Cristie Kerr (USA) $31,859,564

4 Inbee Park (Korea) $28,832,245

5 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) $26,712,167

6 Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) $23,465,947

7 Suzann Pettersen (Norway) $23,425,288

8 Stacy Lewis (USA) $22,881,678

9 Juli Inkster (USA) $22,131,971

10 Lexi Thompson (USA) $21,867,627

11 Minjee Lee (Australia) $21,732,938