Minjee Lee has dominated the majors of late, winning two of the last six with two additional top-5s. Coming into the second round of the AIG Women’s Open, the Aussie was a combined 58 under par since the 2021 Amundi Evian, 22 strokes better than the next player, Georgia Hall.
On Friday at Muirfield, Lee added a 1-under 70 to move to 4 under and take a share of the mid-day clubhouse lead with France’s Celine Boutier.
Currently No. 2 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Lee has a chance to move to No. 1 for the first time with a victory at Muirfield, with Jin Young Ko likely missing the cut at 5 over. Lee also could rise to No. 1 with a solo-second finish, should Ko finish 54th or worse and No. 3 Nelly Korda finish solo-third or worse.
No Aussie has been No. 1 since the rankings debuted in February 2006. South Korea’s Ko has been ranked No. 1 for 27 consecutive weeks dating to Jan. 31, 2022. She’s been No. 1 a total of 133 weeks in her career.
The laid-back Lee seems to take it all in stride.
“I definitely know where I am on the leaderboard playing,” said Lee. “I try not to think too much about the other stuff. I’m still the same person. I’m still going to, I hit a little white golf ball around a field. That’s always been my mindset, and whatever comes with it I’m going to embrace it and be the best person that I can be.”
Lee, 26, hit 14 greens in regulation Friday and took 32 putts. She carded 15 pars on the day.
An eight-time winner on the LPGA, Lee leads the tour in scoring (69.17), money ($3,426,980) and CME points. A two-time winner this season, she has three additional top-3 finishes.
