There was no uprising in the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The ‘insurgents’ lacked the ability and determination, while Minjee Lee (-4) showed plenty of composure and discipline. The Australian started with a four-shot lead and won by three. She only had a brief moment of initial uncertainty, but she resolved it decisively. She is crowned at the Field Ranch East PGA Frisco. It’s her third Major victory, her first PGA. She adds it to the Evian and the US Open. She is now just two away from the women’s super Career Grand Slam.
Minjee has won the major with full merit. No one played better than her. No one left them closer. No one understood the shots around the green better. And no one holed more of those putts you need to make if you want to win in a week like this. Really, it can be said without exaggeration that she won with ease.
It’s true that at the beginning she showed some doubts. The wind blew very strongly again at the PGA of America headquarters in Texas. Golf turned into a battle once more. Three bogeys from the Australian in the first six holes seemed to open the doors to a revolt. However, there was no sign of a mutiny. Firstly, because Jeeno Thitikul, who started closest, four shots behind, was as erratic as on Saturday. She lost her magic over the weekend and couldn’t put pressure on her playing partner. And secondly, because those coming from behind were too far away.
Minjee Lee didn’t play that badly to be three over par in those six holes. Simply, a three-putt here and a couple of visits to the bunker that she couldn’t recover from inflated her scorecard. In fact, she left some fairly reasonable birdie chances along the way. Basically, it was one of those moments when nothing goes your way.
Seeing that her lead was hardly in danger, the oceanic golfer, sister of Min Woo Lee, the only one in the family who currently has Majors, managed to find calm, stuck to her game, started hitting shots at the flag, and brought the situation back under control. She stopped the bleeding with a birdie on the 9th, and even her bogey on the 10th didn’t seem to complicate things for her. She waited for her moment, and it came on the 14th and 15th holes, two of the most accessible flags today at the Field Ranch East by Gil Hanse. She made two easy birdies that, combined with a good par putt on the 13th, sealed the tournament.
Minjee won by three shots over Auston Kim (-1), who delivered the best performance of her career, and Chanettee Wannasaen (-1), much the same. They are the only three who managed to finish the tournament under par. More or less like the US Open at Oakmont. And that’s even though today’s course setup was a bit more forgiving and allowed for twelve rounds under par, including the 68-shot scorecards from Kim and Wannasaen.
Jeeno Thitikul (+1) will have to keep waiting to win her first Major. A +7 over the weekend made victory impossible for her. She finished tied for fourth with Japan’s Chisato Iwai. Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda, who had some chance on Sunday, finished outside the top 10 with rounds of 76 shots.
As for the Spanish players, Azahara Muñoz (+8) concluded with a round of 74 shots and finished in the top 30. A good week in a Major. A performance that should boost her confidence and propel her upwards in the coming weeks. The game is there. She has the ability to keep competing for several more years. The week in Frisco is a confirmation. Meanwhile, Julia López (+10) finished with a scorecard of 73 shots, in 36th place, another good week on a big stage, and Carlota Ciganda (+18) ended her weekend odyssey with a scorecard of 77 shots, in 71st place.
