WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) – Minjee Lee didn’t expect her rookie season on the LPGA Tour to include a victory. Now that she has proved herself wrong by winning the Kingsmill Championship, she’s thinking she can do it again.
The 18-year-old Australian, who turned professional in September, shook off a three-putt bogey on her first hole Monday morning and finished with two pars for a 6-under 65 and 15-under 269 total.
It was her first title as a professional. She became the seventh LPGA Tour player to win before her 19th birthday.
“I didn’t think this moment would come this year, so I’m stoked to have won,” she said after signing autographs behind the 18th green while waiting to see if her lead would hold up. “Just because I won in my rookie season, I feel like I could probably do it again. It just kind of gives me confidence that I can play out here and win out here.”
Lee surged into the lead Sunday with a round highlighted by a five-hole stretch that she played in 5 under before darkness halted play. She returned to the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course early Monday with a four-stroke lead.