Minjee Lee finishes second in Korea
Minjee Lee – file photo Australian Golf Media
Minjee Lee narrowly missed an opportunity to complete the first leg of what may well have been an historic weekend for the Lee family when she finished runner-up after a playoff at Hana Bank Championship at the Bears Best Golf Club in Incheon outside of Seoul.
Lee was, of course, playing the event several hours ahead of the final round of the French Open where her brother Minwoo shares the lead.
Lee went down to Korean golfer, Lee Dayeon, at the second extra hole of a playoff, missing an eight-foot par-saving putt after her opponent had two-putted for par after both had earlier parred the first extra hole.
It was the second time in three years for Lee to lose the event to Lee Dayeon having also lost a playoff to the multi-winning Korean LPGA Tour player in 2023.
Playing the event no doubt because of the commercial arrangement Minjee Lee has with the tournament sponsor Hana Bank, Lee produced a last round of 68 to force the playoff, holing a 30-foot birdie putt at the last to set the target, before just a few moments later, the eventual winner also holed a similar length putt at the 17th.
The winner was full of admiration for her more credentialed opponent.
“Minjee is someone I really admire and look up to, said Lee Dayeon. “She’s such a kind and inspiring person, and it meant so much to me just to be in a playoff with her again. In 2023, I cried after the win, so this time I told her, ‘I’m not going to cry.’ And she told me, ‘It’s okay, you can cry if you want to.’ It was such a sweet moment.”
