SOUTHERN PINES, NC — Australia’s Minjee Lee won the US Women’s Open by four strokes over Mina Harigae at Pine Needles on Sunday to win $1.8 million, the largest payout in women’s golf history.
Lee closed Sunday’s final round with a par 71 to finish at 13-under 271 for the tournament after flirting with the tournament record of 16-under set by American Juli Inkster in 1999 at Old Waverly Golf Club in Mississippi. .
“I mean, I’m speechless,” Lee said. “I can’t believe it right now. No, he is just super, super special and just such an honor. It has been my dream since I was a little girl. It’s the one I always wanted to win; Now I’ve done it, and it feels amazing.”
Lee’s earnings came from a record $10 million purse.
“We’re just moving in the right direction,” Lee said. “I think it’s only going to get better and better from here. It is such a large sum, and I am truly honored to be the first winner of this sum. We’re just going to get better and better.”
Harigae shot a 72 for his best finish in a major tournament and won a check for just over $1 million.
Though he knew he had no chance of winning down the stretch, Harigae said it was still nerve-wracking knowing that $1 million was at stake, a larger payout than the winner earns in most LPGA Tour events.
“I’m not going to lie, I had a stomach ache on the last two holes,” said Harigae, 32. “He was really stressed out, but I was really just concentrating on one shot at a time, making solid contact and hitting good putts.”
South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi was one of only two players to break par on Sunday, hitting 70 to finish third at 7-under.
South Korea’s Jin Young Ko, No. 1 in the women’s golf rankings, finished fourth at 6-under, seven shots behind the leader after 71. Lydia Ko was 5-under after 72.
Ingrid Lindblad, the player from Sweden’s Louisiana State University, was the underdog at 1 under par, tied for 11th after a 76.
The 26-year-old Lee was never challenged on a field that played significantly harder on Sunday than the previous three days. He opened with rounds of 67, 66 and 67.
Lee became the sixth consecutive international player to win the US Women’s Open and the first from Australia since her mentor, Karrie Webb, won in 2001. It was her second career major championship win after winning the Evian Championship in last July. Her previous best result at the US Open was a tie for 11th place in 2017.
Lee, who entered the week ranked No. 4, has won eight LPGA Tour events and became the first repeat winner this year following her Founders Cup victory three weeks ago in New Jersey.
Lee entered the final round with a three-shot lead over Harigae and said after the third round that her goal was to stay aggressive and make birdies.
She lived up to those goals from the start, birdieing the first two holes to move to 15-under and take a five-shot lead over Harigae.
He stumbled a bit with bogeys on the fifth and seventh holes, but was still able to make the turn on the par 35 and into a four-shot lead when Harigae also bogeyed on the seventh. The lead increased to five shots after Harigae bogeyed the par-4 11th hole, nearly sealing Lee’s victory.
Lee then hit a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 12 to take the lead to six, prompting her to raise her arm in celebration. She appeared within touching distance of Inkster’s record when she hit 15 under after a birdie on the par-5 15th hole, but closed out with two bogeys.
Harigae didn’t make his first birdie until the 15th hole.
Nelly Korda closed with a 73 on Sunday to tie for eighth in her first tournament since undergoing surgery to treat a blood clot in her left arm.
“The first week you have rust, right, so you don’t really expect much from your game,” said Korda, the world No. 2 player. “You don’t know where your game is. Knowing that I can play a really tough golf course at a major and even be in contention is definitely a positive.”
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