Minjee Lee carried a one-stroke lead into the final round of the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open and cruised on home for victory, finishing at -14 overall and earning a four-stroke win over the Republic of Korea’s Sei Young Kim. The 22-year-old Australian carded four birdies and a lone bogey in her final-round 68, though Kim pulled within two strokes of Lee with four holes to go.
“I was just going to carry on playing my own game,” said Lee, who was one of only three players to birdie 18 on Sunday, closing with a flourish. “I had a couple birdie opportunities coming in, so I didn't get rattled up or anything.”
Kim recorded six birdies on the day to earn solo second at -10 after a final-round 66. Americans Morgan Pressel and Annie Park, a graduate of the University of Southern California, tied for third at -9. Nanna Koerstz Madsen, who started the day one stroke behind Lee, shot 76 to fall to 13th.
ROLEX RANKINGS UPDATE
With her win at the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open, Minjee Lee is projected to move to No. 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, behind World No. 1Jin Young Ko. This is the best ranking of Lee’s career; she previously reached No. 3 from Feb. 25 to April 7, 2019. It is her 40th consecutive week in the top 10.
With Lee’s move up to World No. 2, Sung Hyun Park and Ariya Jutanugarn each move down one spot to No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, with Nasa Hataokaremaining at No. 5.
LEE HAPPY WITH STATE OF HER GAME
2018 was a banner year for Minjee Lee, who recorded a career best 13 top-10 finishes, including a win and three runner-up finishes. Now 10 tournaments into the 2019 season and Lee has picked up right where she left off. This win, combined with runner-up finishes in Thailand and Singapore and a third-place showing in Hawaii, help cement Lee as one of the premier players in the women’s game.
“I think the two people who won (in Thailand and Singapore), they just outplayed me on the day. I didn't feel like I played bad or anything. Felt pretty solid,” said Lee. “Hawaii, Brooke pretty much played the game that she had to win. I didn't feel like I lost, but I knew I was close to probably winning out here. I was pretty solid and pretty consistent.”
KIM IMPRESSED BY WILSHIRE
Wilshire Country Club was certainly a gem of a venue for this week’s LPGA Tour players. Runner-up Sei Young Kim, who shot a final-round 66 to surge up the leaderboard, found the course to be a tough but fair challenge for the world’s best female golfers.
“I think this golf course is not easy even (for a) regular tournament. The greens are really fast, and if I miss the wrong side it's tough to get up and down,” said Kim. “Even that I'm very satisfied with my playing. Yeah, I'm very happy with my score.”
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