Mina Harigae, who shot a course-record 64 in the opening round before sharing the lead with Lee after the second day, finished second; Lee's victory follows her win at the Evian Championship last summer
Thursday 6 July 2023 04:50, UK
Minjee Lee secured her second major title and the largest pay-out in women’s golf with a convincing four-stroke victory at the US Women’s Open.
Lee mixed four birdies with as many bogeys during a final-round 71 at Pine Needles, seeing the Australian finish on 13 under and earning her $1.8m from the record $10m prize purse.
"I mean, I'm speechless. I can't believe it right now," Lee said. "It's just super, super special and just a great honour. It's been my dream since I was a little girl. It's the one that I always wanted to win - now I've done it, and it just feels amazing."
Lee quickly extended her overnight three-shot advantage by following a two-putt birdie at the par-five first by holing a 40-footer at the next, with the world No 4 recovering from bogeys at the fourth and sixth to birdie the 12th and take advantage of the par-five 15th.
Bogeys at the 16th and 18th couldn't prevent Lee from becoming the first Australian to win the event since Karrie Webb in 2001, with the victory following her Evian Championship success last July.
Harigae, who shot a course-record 64 in the opening round before sharing the lead with Lee after the second day, finished with a 72 on Sunday to end the week on nine under.
"I'm not going to lie, my stomach hurt the last couple holes," Harigae admitted after securing just over $1m for finishing second. "I was really stressed out. I was focusing one shot at a time and making solid contact and just hitting the putts."
The day's best round of 70 was recorded by South Korea's Hye-Jin Choi, who finished third on seven under, while her compatriot, world number one Jin Young Ko, shot 71 to collect fourth at six under.
Bronte Law of England carded a 74 to finish at four under and Irishwoman Leona Maguire shot the same score on Sunday to finish another two strokes back. Charley Hull also had a 74 to end the week tied-20th, while her fellow English player Georgia Hall ended up at six over.
