Minjee Lee battled through the elements and the course conditions on Sunday, and earned a three-shot win over Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen. The Women’s PGA championship was her third major championship. All have been unique, with the Evian and US Open championships preceeding it. Lee stood three shots over par through six holes on the final day, despite not hitting wayward shots. With doubt creeping into the minds of the viewers and fans, how did Lee manage to stay focussed?
Thanks to ASAP Sports, we are able to get a sense of what mental imagery Lee used to remain in the moment, remain committed to a plan. Lee missed the third fairway by about a yard, but needed an excavator to extract the ball from the gnarly rough. She was able to manage about 100 yards’ movement, which left 190 yards to the green. Her approach found the fronting bunker, and she played a solid blast to 10 feet. Her par save hit the lip and spun out, leaving her with bogey. At five, her drive found the fairway but her approach leaked right, into another sand pit. Another blast, another missed par save, another bogey. At six, her approach hit the ramp to the green and checked. Her chip released firmly past the hole, and a third consecutive par save drifted away from the target.
At seven, Minjee steadied the course of her vessel. The winds whipped sideways on many holes, reducing approach shots to as much of a guess as a science. She balanced bogey at ten with birdie at nine, and reached the target holes still three over on the day.
Over the first dozen holes, Lee’s playing partners (Jeeno Thitikul and Hye-Jin Choi) each stood at plus-one, meaning that a pair of shots had been made up on the leader by both golfers. Simultaneously, Austin Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen were marching toward career-best finishes in majors. With so many potentialities coming down the stretch run of the tournament, something had to happen, and something had to give.
Lee opted to remain aware of what was happening across the course, yet remain focused of one person: herself. Greens in regulation at eleven through thirteen led to calming par putts. The dam finally broke on fourteen, when three well-planned shots gave Lee a nine-feet run at birdie. The putter that she had worked so hard to master and control, came through. She extended her advantage to three shots, critical to her stretch run. At fifteen, where the playing deck had been moved up to inside 240 yards, Lee erred on the side of caution. Her tee ball nearly cut back to the green, and she was left with fifteen feet to reach the putting surface. Eschewing the chip shot, Lee played a true Texas wedge onto the green, six feet from the hole. She converted for a second consecutive birdie, and finally had the breathing room that she needed.
Lee flinched on a par-saving effort at sixteen, but continued to avoid the doubles and triples that had plagued her fellow competitors all week. Pars at seventeen and eighteen brought her home at four-under par. Her margin of victory was three shots over Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen. The two runners-up had parlayed 68s on day four into eight-position elevations on day four. Jeen Thitikul, the truest pursuer all week, finished at three-over par on the day, one-over on the week, in a tie for fourth with Chisato Iwai. Hye-Jin Choi closed with 74, two shots farther back, in a tie for eighth.