USA TODAY International Edition
US champ Lee follows mentor’s path
SOUTHERN PINES, N. C. – Life- size photos and posters of Karrie Webb dotted the landscape at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club this past week along with those of other former champions of the U. S. Women’s Open Championship.
Next July, when the event moves to Pebble Beach, Minjee Lee’s likeness will be included with those champion displays.
The 26- year- old earned her championship portrait Sunday with a dominant performance in the final round of the 77th edition of the Women’s Open at Pine Needles to earn the largest payout in the history of women’s golf – $ 1.8 million.
“I mean, I’m speechless,” Lee said. “I can’t believe it right now. It’s just super, super special and just a great honor.”
Lee used a four- hole birdie run in the third round to take a three- stroke lead into Sunday and increased that advantage to as much as five strokes over runner- up Mina Harigae before settling for a four- stroke triumph. Lee’s total of 171 broke a U. S. Women’s Open 72- hole record held by Annika Sorenstam ( 1996 at Pine Needles), Juli Inkster ( 1999 at Old Waverly) and In Gee Chun ( 2015 at Lancaster).
Lee’s performance also was reminiscent of 2001 when Webb won her second straight Open crown by an eight- stroke margin on the same Pine Needles course. Once she took the lead in the third round, Lee never looked back.
For Lee, winning the Open title on the same course where Webb was victorious has special meaning. Both players hail from Australia, but their connection goes far beyond that national bond.
Webb has been both a mentor and friend since Lee won the Karrie Webb Scholarship as an amateur. The scholarship allowed Lee to travel to the United States and she stayed at Webb’s rental house while she competed in the 2013 U. S. Women’s Open at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
It was a learning- on- the- job experience for Lee, who was able to watch one of the game’s great players prepare and compete in a major championship.
“It was just really cool because that was kind of the very first experience I had at the U. S. Open, and to be with Webby, it was just even better,” Lee said last week. “Just to be able to watch her play and even be with her off course. It was just nice to see how she goes about things, and just to hang out with her, is really cool in general.”
Those lessons learned from “Webby,” as Lee referred to Webb this week, paid off with the one golf title Lee has dreamed of winning since childhood.
“I mean, this is pretty special,” she said. “This is the one I’ve always wanted to win since I was a little kid, so it just feels pretty amazing to be able to get it done today. I just can’t believe it.”
Maybe it will take a while for Lee to completely grasp what she achieved with her U. S. Women’s Open triumph Sunday. But it will be clear when she arrives in Pebble Beach next year and sees her picture alongside Webb’s.