[PHOTO: Getty images]
Minjee Lee says she will avoid the temptation to set her short-term sights on golfing immortality after moving within striking distance of an eventual career grand slam having won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
RELATED: The Callaway clubs Minjee Lee used to win the KPMG Women’s PGA
The 29-year-old LPGA Tour legend, from Perth, claimed a third major trophy when she won the Women’s PGA by three shots at PGA Frisco in Texas on Sunday (Monday AEST). Following her triumphs at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open, Lee has captured three out of five women’s majors.
The 29-year-old iced her status as one of Australia’s greatest ever golfers, becoming just the fourth from the nation to win three or more majors. She joined seven-time major winner Karrie Webb, five-time Open Championship winner Peter Thomson, and three-time winner Jan Stephenson (du Maurier Classic – 1981, LPGA Championship – 1982, US Women’s Open – 1983) in that illustrious club.
Lee, Webb and Stephenson are the only Australians in history to have won three different majors. “Yeah, it’s just really special,” Lee said in her winning press conference. “I think it’s only three other names on this [Women’s PGA] trophy that are Australian, so I think it’s such a great privilege to be able to have my name with them as well. Just I guess it shows the grit of the Aussies. Yeah, just really special. Means a lot.”
But Lee isn’t thinking about career grand slams yet, despite Rory McIlroy becoming the sixth male golfer to complete the career men’s slam with his Masters victory just two months ago in April.
“The next thing is Evian I guess’ that’s my next stop on Tour,” Lee said of the French women’s major, being held July 10-13, which will be the second-last women’s major of the year before the AIG Women’s British Open at the end of July.
“I don’t really set goals like I’m going to win three majors, try and have three wins. I just stick to my processes, and one of my big goals was to improve on the putting stats, so I think I’ve been doing that. I’m just taking it one step at a time. I’m going to enjoy this win, and then I’ll sit down with my coach and talk to him on the phone, see where we are going go after this one.”
Lee said she did, however, concede that the career slam is “my ultimate goal,” and also described growing up dreaming of entering the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. “I really want to be in the hall for fame, that’s why I started golf and wanted to be on the LPGA Tour. Win a bunch of tournaments and try to get into it. Seeing Lydia [Ko] do it, I’d really like to get there, but we’ll see how it goes after this week.”
RELATED: The Callaway clubs Minjee Lee used to win the KPMG Women’s PGA
Lee also overtook David Graham (PGA Championship – 1979, US Open – 1981) and Greg Norman (The Open – 1986, 1993) on the majors tally.