FRISCO, Texas — Australian golf star Minjee Lee etched her name deeper into history on Sunday, June 22, 2025, capturing the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East for her third career major title.
Battling relentless winds, scorching heat, and a firm, unforgiving course, Lee held off a charging field to finish at 4-under 284, three shots clear of runners-up Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen, earning $1.8 million from the record $12 million purse.
Lee, 29, entered the final round with a four-shot lead over Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul after a bogey-free 69 on Saturday, the only such round of the tournament. But Sunday tested her resolve. She bogeyed three of her first six holes — Nos. 3, 5, and 6 — while Kim, a 24-year-old American, surged with three consecutive birdies, cutting Lee’s lead to two.
“I was nervous starting the day,” Lee admitted. “I looked calm, but I wasn’t as calm as everybody thinks.”
The turning point came on the back nine. A clutch 8-foot par save on the par-3 13th steadied her, followed by back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 — a 9-footer on the par-5 14th and another on the par-4 15th — restoring a four-shot cushion.
“I just tried to take it one step at a time,” Lee said. “Some of my drives were terrible, but I managed to get up and down and keep bogeys from becoming worse.”
She closed with a 2-over 74, one of only three players to finish under par for the week.
Kim and Wannasaen, both carding 4-under 68s, tied for second at 1-under, with Kim notching her best major finish. Thitikul, who led after the first two rounds, struggled to a 76 on Saturday and faded early Sunday with bogeys on two of her first three holes, finishing at 2-over. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, describing the course as “almost impossible,” tied for 19th after a final-round 76.
Fields Ranch East, a Gil Hanse design, proved a brutal test, with winds gusting up to 40 mph and temperatures in the mid-90s. The course yielded the highest major scoring average in nearly two decades, frustrating players like Maja Stark, who snapped her putter in anger.
Lee’s resilience shone through, particularly with her putting, bolstered by a switch to a longer putter that saw her rank first in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.
“The broomstick gave me more freedom,” said Lee, whose putting had ranked 137th in 2024.
This victory, Lee’s 11th LPGA title, places her alongside Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson as the only Australians with three or more majors, and she became the 31st LPGA player to reach that milestone. Her previous majors came at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open.
Now, only the Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open stand between her and a career Grand Slam.
“It’s my ultimate goal,” Lee said, also eyeing LPGA Hall of Fame induction, for which she now has 14 of the required 27 points.
The win was deeply personal. Lee’s mother, Clara, her longtime coach, witnessed her first major victory in person, while her father watched from Perth. Her brother, PGA Tour star Min Woo Lee, fresh off a T63 at the Travelers Championship, celebrated via Instagram: “Let her cook, come on sis!” He later praised her mental strength, saying, “Her game is built for majors.” The siblings, the first to win the same USGA junior events, continue to rewrite golf history as only the third brother-sister duo to win professional events.
After sinking her final putt, Lee was swamped with champagne by peers, including Lydia Ko, who called her “the longest friend I’ve had.” Reflecting on past struggles, including a final-round collapse at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open, Lee said, “I had a lot of doubt the past few years, especially with my putting. This one, I feel like I really deserved.”
