Minjee Lee began the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles with a three-shot lead. After starting the final round birdie-birdie, she widened her gap on the field even farther. The 26-year-old from Australia left no doubt, winning the U.S. Women’s Open by four over Mina Harigae. Here are some of the most impressive stats from Lee’s win. Several of them come from Justin Ray of the TwentyFirst Group:
Lee set the record for low 72-hole score in U.S. Women’s Open history. The previous mark was 272, which three players have achieved: Annika Sorenstam in 1996, Juli Inkster in 1999 and In Gee Chun in 2015.
In January, the USGA announced that the U.S. Women’s Open purse would nearly double. The purse increased from $5.5 million to $10 million, with the winner taking home $1.8 million. It’s the biggest winner’s check any woman has earned in professional golf.
Over the course of four rounds at Pine Needles, Lee had 22 birdies. It was the most of anyone in the field, by three.
Lee set the 54-hole scoring record, breaking Juli Inkster’s previous low mark. Inkster was at 201 after three rounds in 1999.
Lee hit 79 percent of greens in regulation at Pine Needles, tying her for third in the statistic for the championship.
Entering the week, Lee was ranked 144th in strokes gained/putting. But at Pine Needles, she was ranked second in that same statistic. On average for the week, she gained 2.47 strokes per round on the field with her putting.
When Lee birdied the first hole on Sunday at Pine Needles, she became the third player to ever get to 14 under or better at a U.S. Women’s Open. The other two are Juli Inkster (1999) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2018).
Lee joins Jan Stephenson and Karrie Webb as the third Australian woman to win multiple majors and the third Aussie to win the U.S. Women’s Open. Lee won her first major at the Amundi Evian Championship in 2021.