Southern Pines, NC June 6 (BUS): Tennis player Ash Party retired immediately after winning this year’s Australian Open, but compatriot Minji Lee has no plans to follow suit, the 26-year-old from Perth said after winning the tournament. America for women. Open golf tournament on Sunday.
Lee led throughout the final round and scored 71 in tough conditions to take home the biggest prize in women’s golf with a confirmed four-stroke win at the Pine Needles, Reuters reports.
“I’m not going to retire,” he told me after finishing the game with a record low average of 13 under 271.
It raised $1.8 million from a record total portfolio of $10 million, while American Mina Harigai (72) took second place at nine under.
He told me, “It’s a great honor. It’s been my dream since I was a little girl. It’s the dream I’ve always wanted to win, so I’ve done it now and it feels great.”
“It’s a huge sum,” she added, almost losing words as she tried to explain what it meant to win nearly $2 million in one fell swoop, not quite sure what she would do with the money.
Lee, who won her first major title at Evian last year, joined forces with Carrie Webb (2000 and 2001) and Jan Stevenson (1983) as Australian to win the US Women’s Open.
The last round started with a three-shot lead over Harigae, and Lee quickly extended her supremacy.
The two-stroke bird on the fifth floor was first followed by a 40-foot-per-second bomb that was initially greeted with complete silence because the hatch on the raised green was not visible to the gallery.
It wasn’t until Lee retrieved the ball from the cup that the late spectators applauded.
Although Lee hit a few loose shots and made two ghosts on the tough Front Nine, no one could run like a choppy breeze, and the harsh conditions and folded hole locations turned the round into a battle of attrition.
Using her deceptively powerful swing to regularly outrun Harigae by 30 yards or so, the diminutive Lee also had power and was advanced enough to enjoy roughly the last few holes, three throws on the final hole just an academy.
“I was very nervous all day,” she admitted when it was all said and done. “It was nice to have this little storeroom.”
The daughter of Korean parents who immigrated to Australia, Lee swam competitively from an early age before turning her attention to golf at around the age of ten, shifting her work ethic from one sport to the next.
“I think this is going to be huge for all the little girls and even the boys and kids that are watching (in Australia),” she said.
“I hope they see me on TV and I can set a good example for them and they’ll start getting more involved.”