Australian Minjee Lee overcame a late rally by Alison Lee and defeated the American from Southern California on the first playoff hole to win the BMW Ladies Championship on Sunday, Oct. 22, in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Minjee Lee carded a 4–under-par 68 on Sunday and joined Alison Lee (67) at 16–under for the tournament at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club. Minjee Lee made a birdie at the par-4 18th on the first playoff hole to record her 10th career title.
“Going into the back nine, the first probably five holes, I wasn’t quite as nervous. I was probably a bit more excited than nervous to be fair,” said Minjee Lee, who pocketed $330,000 for her first-place finish.
“These last few holes, I was quite excited to play, and you know, we always want to be putting ourselves in that position, in the contending position, week-in, week-out and I was lucky enough to do it this week. It’s just really fun to play in those type of conditions and those situations, so I think I really had fun out there this week.”
The victory was especially sweet for Minjee Lee, whose parents are from South Korea.
Alison Lee, Los Angeles native, forced the playoff with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18, giving her five for the day against two bogeys. She was unable to match Minjee Lee in the playoff, however. Her approach landed in front of the green and she settled for par on the extra hole.
“I feel really good about my game. I feel like I’m hitting it so well and I had so many putts this week lip out, and I can’t stop thinking about all those small mistakes that I potentially made,” Alison Lee said. “Yeah, really happy for Minjee. She obviously played really well. It’s disappointing that I couldn’t make my birdie putt and give it another shot playing 18 another time, but it is what it is.”
Defending champion Lydia Ko, a South Korean-born New Zealander, carded a 69 on Sunday to finish in third place at 14–under. She was bidding to become the first two-time winner of the BMW Ladies Championship.
“Going into today, I was like, I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m not in the lead and I’m obviously close,” she said. “Going into this week, I could have finished last or first, who knows. It was a complete potluck in ways. So obviously a lot of good things to reflect on this week, so hopefully good momentum to Malaysia.”
Angel Yin (67) wrapped up a fourth-place finish at 13–under, while Frenchwoman Celine Boutier (70) was part of a five-way tie for fifth place at 12–under. Joining Boutier were England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff (65), South Koreans Jeongeun Lee6 (67) and Jiyai Shin as well as Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul (69).
South African Ashleigh Buhai, who shared the lead heading into the fourth round, carded a 74 to plummet into a 13th-place tie at 10–under.
