Minjee Lee’s third major win, at KPMG Women’s PGA, had hidden meaning

FRISCO, Texas — For all four grueling rounds at the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East, Minjee Lee had the same steely look on her face. No matter birdie or bogey on the firm, fast, fire-breathing setup, her demeanor never changed as she roared out to a four-shot lead through 54 holes, putting a third-career major title within her grasp.

When Lee stepped on the first tee Sunday, with a heat index in the triple digits, the look was the same: determined. Lee, with her polarized sunglasses serving as a shield, appeared unflappable. She smiled, waved to the crowd and striped her opening tee shot, signaling what promised to be a long walk to a major coronation.

But looks can be deceiving.

“I just want to be clear,” Lee said six hours after that opening swing. “I definitely was nervous starting the day. I wasn’t really sure if it was the heat that was making my heart beat more … but I was not as calm as everybody thinks.”

On what was an exacting major-championship test, Lee stumbled early. She made bogeys at 3, 5 and 6, while Auston Kim made three straight birdies ahead of her to cut Lee’s lead to two.

There was an opportunity for Lee to wobble — to crumble like she did during the final round of the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, where she entered Sunday as the co-leader, only to bomb out with a 78.

But that Minjee Lee is not this Minjee Lee.

“I just tried to be really simple out there,” she said. “It was just so tough with the wind, so I just tried to take it one step at a time. Some of the drives that I hit were really terrible out there, but I was able to get up and down, make bogey, not have a score that was too large to come back from. I think I managed myself really well.”

Understanding there were birdie holes ahead and the demanding test was the same for her chasers, Lee stuck to her plan. Her emotions never shifted. After every shot, she’d open her yardage book and jot down notes. One foot in front of the other. Eyes forward.

She birdied the par-5 9th but gave the stroke back at the 10th. She steadied herself with pars at 11 and 12 before facing a potential tournament-altering hole at the treacherous par-3 13th.

Lee’s tee shot found the green but stopped some 70 feet from the hole. Her first putt hit a wall of wind and came up short, leaving her eight feet for par. Up ahead at the par-4 16th, Kim had a birdie putt to get to two under and potentially cut Lee’s lead to one or tie should Lee’s par attempt miss.

Almost simultaneously, Lee rolled in the par putt as Kim’s effort burned the edge. Lee’s fist punctured the humid Texas air as the ball found the bottom of the cup to keep her lead at three.

Birdies at 14 and 15 followed, stretching Lee’s cushion to four and setting up a stress-free walk to a trophy that she has been pushing herself to secure.

“I feel like I really deserve this one,” Lee said after finishing at four under par to win by three; she was one of just three players to finish the week under par.

With her reflection showing in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy, Lee, now 29, thought about the magnitude of this win — a victory that elevated her above the likes of Nelly Korda, Lillia Vu, Brooke Henderson, Yuka Saso and Jin-Young Ko, all of whom have two major wins. Major title No. 3 ties Lee with Lydia Ko, who was among the players showering Lee in champagne after her winning putt dropped.

Lee, who has 11 LPGA wins, is one major away from an LPGA-recognized career Grand Slam (four out of five) and two away from what Ko would call the actual Slam. Hall of Fame enshrinement is also now a very real possibility.

Lee admitted such goals once fueled her. She still sees the Hall as her “ultimate goal” and wants to win the career Grand Slam. But those are barely visible North Stars for her. What led her to an emphatic win in the grueling North Texas heat was not a drive to be in rarified air, but a desire to prove to herself that she can be more than she’s been.

This win meant more than anyone could see, and that’s what powered Lee.

“I feel like I had a lot of doubt the past few years,” she said. “I think the more I heard media and other people saying things about my putting, I think it got to me more and more over time. I think this one just means a little bit more to me. … Obviously, the U.S. Open is my absolute favorite, but in terms of my most deserved I think this one is the one.”

Lee won her first two majors — the 2021 Evian and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open — with a traditional putter, albeit putting with her left hand low. Struggles with the flatstick plagued her over the past two years, and Lee’s coach, Ritchie Smith, talked her into using a long putter this year. That switch freed her up on the greens and keyed a dominant performance at PGA Frisco.

But the win, the trophy, the champagne-soaked clothes and the record prize check don’t have Lee gazing at the stars for her next quest. Her eyes remain straight ahead because that’s what got her here and what she believes will bring whatever success comes next.

“I don’t really set goals like I’m going to win three majors, try and have three wins,” Lee said. “I just stick to my processes, and one of my big goals was to improve on the putting stats, so I think I’ve been doing that. I’m just taking it one step at a time. I’m going to enjoy this win, and then I’ll sit down with my coach and talk to him on the phone, see where we are going to go after this one.”

Asked to ponder the big picture of her career and what might be in the future, the 29-year-old smiled and laughed.

“The next thing is Evian,” Lee said of the fourth major of the season, July 10-13, in France. “That’s my next stop on Tour.”

With doubt removed and her process validated, Lee headed off to celebrate a win that will shape her legacy. It was time to let loose, even if she still appeared every bit as poised and forward-looking as she did on the course.

For Minjee Lee, now freed up and confident, what’s in front of her is everything.