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Minjee Lee
Australian professional golfer (born 1996)
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Minjee Lee (born 27 May 1996) is an Australian professional golfer. She is from Perth, Australia. Lee became the number one ranked amateur golfer in February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open, remaining number one until turning professional in September 2014. Lee has won three major championships: the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship, the 2022 U.S. Women's Open, and the 2025 Women's PGA Championship.
Early life and amateur career
In 1996, Lee was born in Perth, Australia. In 2010, Lee became the youngest winner of the WA Amateur Open while still a year 9 student at Methodist Ladies' College, Perth. At the start of 2012, she was moved from MLC to Corpus Christi College, to be closer to Royal Fremantle Golf Club. She left Corpus Christi in 2013.
Lee was the winner of the 2012 U.S. Girls' Junior. She won the Australian Women's Amateur in 2013 and successfully defended the title in 2014.
Lee became the number one ranked amateur golfer on 26 February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open on the ALPG Tour. She remained the number one ranked amateur golfer until September 2014 after leading the Australia team that won the Espirito Santo Trophy.
Professional career
In September 2014, Lee turned professional. On 18 May 2015, Lee gained her first LPGA Tour victory at the Kingsmill Championship. In 2016, she won the Lotte Championship in April, and the Blue Bay LPGA in October. She recorded her first ever hole-in-one at the 2016 Kia Classic by making an albatross on a par four. It was just the second time a player had made a hole-in-one on a par four on the LPGA Tour. Lee represented Australia in the women's golf competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, finishing in a tie for 7th.
In April 2018, she lost the LPGA Mediheal Championship in a playoff to Lydia Ko. In May, she won the LPGA Volvik Championship. Lee finished 2018 ranked second on the money list with $1,551,032 in earnings, finishing second in scoring average with 69.75 shots per round. She also became the first woman to win the Greg Norman Medal for being the best Australian professional golfer on the world stage. In April 2019, Lee won the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, her fifth LPGA Tour victory. By late the following month, she had risen to number two in the Women's World Golf Rankings but in her home country she still had such a low profile that she was described by The Age as the "Invisible Champion of Australia".
Lee qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and competed in the women's competition. She scored −4 across the four rounds and finished 29th, out of medal contention. In July 2021, Lee won her first major championship, the Amundi Evian Championship, by coming from seven strokes behind in the final round and defeating Lee Jeong-eun on the first playoff hole.
In 2022, Lee had a sterling season. She won her seventh LPGA Tour event, the Cognizant Founders Cup, in May, defeating Lexi Thompson by two strokes, 269 (19-under-par) to Thompson's 271. Her eighth LPGA Tour win, the U.S. Women's Open on 5 June 2022, earned her the largest payday to date in women's golf history, $1.8 million of the $10 million total purse. Lee won by four strokes over Mina Harigae. This was the first occasion in a women's golf tournament where there were two prizes in excess of $1 million. Lee set a new record of 271, and led Harigae by three strokes after 54 holes. In November, she won the season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge and $1,000,000 for the 2022 LPGA Tour season. This challenge selects one hole in every participating event and designates it as the Aon Risk Reward hole for that week. The challenge rewards the player who has the best two scores from every participating event that a player competes in throughout the season, measured by the lowest average score to par on these holes.
In June 2025, Lee secured her third victory in a major after claiming the title at the Women's PGA Championship. The following month, she recorded a third-placed finish at the Evian Championship, one stroke behind a two-way playoff for the title. In August, Lee became the first person to win the Rolex Annika Major Award on two occasions. In October, Lee helped Australia win the International Crown for the first time. On 5 May 2026, Minjee Lee committed to joining the WTGL.
Personal life
Lee's parents, Soonam and Clara Lee, are both from South Korea, and emigrated to Australia in the early 1990s. Lee's younger brother, Min Woo, won the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, making them the first brother/sister pair to win the USGA's junior championships.
Awards and honors
In 2018, 2021, and 2023 she earned the Greg Norman Medal, bestowed to the top Australian international golfer. In 2018, she became the first female to earn the award.
In 2022 and 2025, Lee earned the Rolex Annika Major Award, dispensed to the golfer who was the most successful in the female majors.
In 2025, Lee was named the recipient of the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year.
Amateur wins
2010 Western Australia Women's Amateur
2011 Handa Junior Masters, Western Australia Women's Amateur, Singapore Ladies Amateur, Srixon International Junior Classic, Tasmanian Stroke Play Championship
2012 U.S. Girls' Junior, Tasmanian Stroke Play Championship
2013 Australian Women's Amateur, Western Australia Women's Amateur, Rene Erichsen Salver, Australian Girls' Amateur, Dunes Medal
2014 Australian Women's Amateur
Professional wins (14)
LPGA Tour wins (11)
1 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
LPGA Tour playoff record (3–3)
Ladies European Tour wins (3)
2 Co-sanctioned by the ALPG Tour.
3 Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
LET playoff record (2–0)
ALPG Tour wins (2)
a Lee won the 2014 Oates Vic Open as an amateur.
4 Co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
Major championships
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order.
LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Summary
Most consecutive cuts made – 20 (2019 British – 2023 British)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (four times)
LPGA Tour career summary
^ Official as of 21 June 2026
World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
^ As of 29 June 2026
Team appearances
Amateur
Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Australia): 2012, 2014 (winners)
Astor Trophy (representing Australia): 2011
Queen Sirikit Cup (representing Australia): 2013 (winners)
Professional
International Crown (representing Australia): 2014 (as an amateur), 2016, 2018, 2023, 2025 (winners)