Minjee Lee produced a moment of magic on Sunday to edge out Charley Hull in a thrilling end to the Kroger Queen City Championship at the Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati.
Australia’s Lee held a two-stroke lead heading into the final round and carded a 71, while England’s Hull came alive with three birdies in a row from the 14th to get to -16.
Lee must have thought she’d need to hole a lengthy putt at the first extra hole to take the tournament back down the 18th, when Hull’s putt from off the back of the green trundled towards the cup – but it stopped millimetres short.
It was then Lee’s turn to produce a wonder shot. After Hull had played a decent approach of her own, Lee ran her second up to three feet. Hull knew she needed to hole her 18-footer, but her effort failed to hold it’s line and, moments later, Lee tapped in for her first LPGA title since the 2022 US Women's Open.
For Lee, there was a sense of relief having lost a five-shot lead on the back nine. “I had a few moments where I felt I was losing, but I wasn't,” Lee said. “I was like, ‘Let's play ‘til the end and see where it ends up.’ I didn't give up. I played every shot the best I could and won the playoff, so it feels nice.”
After finishing runner-up at the AIG Women’s Open last month, a deflated Hull said she was determined to get back to work and “make my hands bleed”.
Her determination looked to have paid off this week. One more roll of the ball would have seen her claim her third LPGA Tour win and first of the season, but her long range putt on 18 stayed in the jaws of the cup.
“Minjee played well in the playoff,” Hull said. “At the end of the day, she was leading going into the final round and I done my best.”
For Lee, a two-time Major champion, this was LPGA Tour victory number nine, and she now heads off for the Asia swing before returning for the final domestic stretch in November.
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