Minjee Lee on Sunday after her victor on the Kroger Queen City Championship.
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Minjee Lee hit Sunday’s best shot, and she or he received the LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship in a playoff. If you’re coming right here for the elevator-ride wrap-up, there you go. But it’s best to keep some time! There was a lot extra happening Sunday at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati.
Like Lexi Thompson! GOLF’s Alan Bastable documented it properly right here, however one in every of golf’s hottest gamers has struggled this 12 months. She’s missed five-straight cuts. She’s in jeopardy of dropping her full enjoying privileges for 2024. Sunday? She completed tied for nineteenth, her best finish since … final November.
There’s extra.
Like Ruoning Yin! This is one thing. Last April, she was floating round 450th on the earth. Then? In March, she received the LA Open. In June, she received a significant, the Women’s PGA. And on Monday, she’ll get up because the new world No. 1. She’s additionally simply 20 years previous.
There’s extra.
Like Charley Hull! She’s been in your TV usually this 12 months. We received’t quickly overlook that “shy kids don’t get sweets” line from the U.S. Open, the place she ignored laying up from underneath the tree in the midst of Pebble Beach’s iconic 18th gap and blasted one forward in hopes of a win. She completed runner-up there. She completed second on the Women’s Open. She hit Sunday’s second-best shot. More on that under.
There’s extra.
Like Lee’s shot that she airmailed out of bounds on the par-5 twelfth whereas holding a four-shot lead!
Say what?
Really! OK, it was ugly. But the response wasn’t. Having led by 5 after 10 holes, she grimaced for a sec on 12. Briefly, she lowered her head. Then she was handed a new ball, made double bogey and marched to 13. Notably, Hull, her closest pursuer getting into the opening, had bogeyed after hitting into water, and Lee led by three.
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Then the lead was two, when Hull dropped her tee shot on the par-3 14th to eight ft and dropped the putt. But Lee marched forward.
Then the lead was one, when Hull curled in a 10-footer on the par-5 fifteenth. But Lee marched on.
Then the lead was none, when Hull rolled in a 15-footer on the par-4 sixteenth. It was her third-straight birdie. But sure, Lee marched on. They remained knotted, and Lee and Hull moved to a playoff.
Where we received the second-best shot of the day!
Back on the par-4 18th, Hull despatched her second shot over the inexperienced and up in opposition to tent seating. She dropped. From about 60 ft away, she selected putter. Notably, just a few ft in entrance of her was a brownish patch of grime that had been positioned to cowl up an influence line. It didn’t matter. She putted to an inch.
But sure, Lee marched on. She parred to match Hull. They went again to 18 for a second playoff gap.
Where we received the shot of the day!
From the tee, Lee discovered the left tough. It was buried. It didn’t matter. She labored an iron to about 30 yards in need of the inexperienced, her ball took just a few skips, and it rolled to 2 ft. But you understand our complete ‘marching on’ theme? She did that right here, too. Played it cool. On the inexperienced, Hull missed her birdie try, Lee didn’t, and she or he was your winner. She’s already among the many sport’s elite — this was her ninth LPGA win, two of them being majors — and this effort was a gritty one.
Whew.
On Golf Channel afterward, to on-course reporter Kay Cockerill, Lee added this:
“I believe I had just a few moments the place I used to be like, I actually felt like I used to be dropping, however I wasn’t. The rating was we have been just about tied.
“But I was just like, let’s just play until the end and see where it ends up. So I just didn’t give up. I just played every shot to the best I could and then, you know, won the playoff, so it feels nice.”
