Lee the bridesmaid again
Minjee Lee closed strong, but came second. Image: Getty
Minjee Lee stared the world No. 1 to Sentosa today, but the challenge came from further away, and the Australian had to be satisfied with second place on the LPGA Tour.
Lee, 22, was second in rank in a row second and in a row, the fifth time in the last 10 months, two shots for South Korea's remarkable world No. 2, Sung Hyun Park, which closed with the low round of the week, a brilliant 64 to win the HSBC Women's World Championship.
The superstar of Perth started the day with a shot from the leader of world number 1 Ariya Jutanugarn and quickly took the lead after the Thai played an early double bogey. Lee headed back nine, but two groups behind her, the long-running Park made a run that no one could postpone.
Park birdied the first three holes and five of the first seven, caught Lee on the back nine and by the time she threw another birdie-putt on the par-four 16th, around the same time that the Australian made an unnecessary bogey out of the pony with a bad chip on the 14th, the Korean came from two shots.
Park parred from there as the great player she is, with which she achieves her sixth LPGA Tour victory.
For Lee it was almost wrong again, although there are glass half-full moments to enjoy. In her first week as world top three-player she beat Jutanugarn on the last day and shot a very deserving three-under-par 69. It was only that someone else this time was better.
Park's victory was official when Lee's short iron shot from 120 meters to the last green did not enter.
The Korean finished 15-under par, two ahead of Lee, who made two more shots for a group on 11-under.
Lee had 13 top 10 finishes on the LPGA Tour last year and already booked the strong finishes in 2019; She was second in the final of Lydia Ko's incredible play-off three pieces of wood in April last year and started a series of second place finishes in which she has not done much wrong
Her only win on the tour in the last 12 months was at the Volvik championship in May. She was runner-up Ko at the Mediheal, second in Texas, second in the Scottish Open, in Taiwan at the end of last year and last week again in Thailand, with a four-meter-long eagle leg at the last to participate in a play-off with Amy Yang who had just stopped at the cup.
It feels like Lee pounds so hard at the door that she will soon find a victory.