Winning back-to-back major championships in the same season is so rare that it has only happened two times on the LPGA Tour in the last 20 years. For men, it has only happened once in the same period.
Minjee Lee could be adding her name to that illustrious list this Sunday.
The Australian finished second through the first 54 holes of the Mundi Evian Championship, just one stroke behind compatriot Gabriela Ruffels and England’s Cara Gainer. She is the only major champion within three strokes of first place.
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Naturally, it doesn’t hurt that she’s coming off her third career major title at PGA Frisco:
“I definitely feel like I have a different mentality and maybe a little bit different fire in me after KPMG [Women’s PGA Championship].
“I definitely have a little different motivation I think coming off that win. So, yeah, I just feel like I’m in a really good position right now and, you know, can chase tomorrow.”
Minjee Lee Proud for ‘Fighting Back’ on Moving Day
Lee signed one of the few clean scorecards of the third round at Évian-Les-Bains, carding five bogey-free birdies to bring her 54-hole score to 10-under.
The 11-time LPGA Tour winner showed her full potential on Moving Day, making up for lost ground in the second round. Lee began the event with a 66 in the first round, but fell behind with a 71 in the second.
“I think, after yesterday, I felt really proud of myself for fighting back after the start I had…I was like, ‘I cannot end the round like this’, so I just really fought back.
“I just felt like a good round today would put me in a pretty decent position come Sunday and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
The truth is that playing at the level she is doing it and being just one stroke behind, Minjee Lee is fully in contention. A clear example is her victory at this same event in 2021.
In that edition, Lee managed to comeback from a seven-stroke deficit during the final round to tie Jeongeun Lee6 for first place. The Australian ultimately defeated the Korean in the playoff to win her first major title.
If Lee wins the Amundi Evian Championship, she will join Brooks Koepka (2018 US Open, PGA Championship), Inbee Park (2013 Chevron Championship, US Women’s Open, Women’s PGA Championships), and Annika Sörenstam (2005 Kraft Nabisco Championship, LPGA Championships) on the very exclusive list of winners of back-to-back major championships in the last 20 years.
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