Jeongeun Lee6 kisses the US Women & # 39; s Open trophy.
Countless numbers are used to analyze golf tournaments, but today there is only one – SIX.
Korean Jeongeun Lee6 – who chose to adapt to stand out from five previous Korean LPGA players of the same name – is the new champion of the US Women's Open.
Lee6 temed an extremely problematic Country Club from Charleston Club today, with a 70 – her fourth consecutive sub-par round – while her closest rivals suffered hard and left her a two-stroke winner.
Angel Yin (68) and So Yeon Ryu (70) joined Lexi Thompson (73) as the last runners-up to four in total.
But it was Mamiko Higa's quartet (74), Jaye Marie Green (74), Yu Liu (75) and the last brick in the wall that fell, the ISPS Handa Vic Open champion Celine Boutier (74), who left her alone were legitimate challengers. The American Gerina Piller played the day on the second best round of 68 and was late in a share of fifth place in three.
Yet everything fell on the abrasive precision of Lee6, 23, which, remarkably enough, had become the 15th different Korean to win a big championship since Se Ri Pak first broke through in 1998. Since 2012, Korean women have now won 18 of the 36 major championships.
While Korea was fourth again, Australia's drought extended to 59 majors despite three brave attempts.
Queenslander Katherine Kirk had a great run early in her final round to even reach par, but closed with four behind-nine bogeys to fall back to four.
Joining her in that part of the 34th was Hannah Green, who played the best lap of her short major championship career for a round-best four-in-a-row 67.
But the most important Australian story will rest again with her fellow West Australian Minjee Lee, who just missed her fourth top-10 big finish when she was awarded a 73 to finish at one under and T12.
Lee, the world number 2, had the most birdies of all players in Charleston this week – her 18 compared to the 16 of champion Lee6 – but again had an & # 39; other & # 39; on her score card.
Remarkably, Lee has passed a triple-bogey and two double-bogeys for the tournament, the last of which came today to the signature par-three 11th hole to effectively end her title heap.
Lee played that gap – measuring between only 145-170m – five par more than the week, the ultimate difference between her score and the winners.
But that would detract from Lee's actions6 when she booked the first million dollar check in the great championship history of women.
Lee6, in her rookie year on the LPGA Tour but already a seven-time winner on her own KLPGA, is a warm character who plays admirably to support her family after her father, Jung Ho Lee, was paralyzed by a truck accident when she was four.
"Because I am a rookie player … I did not expect that I would win the tournament so quickly. I think this was very lucky to have won this big championship," said a modest Lee6
"When I first (won a tournament) at KLPGA, I shot six underneath and this is quite interesting how I completed an LPGA tournament six years ago (today also).
"So this is really a lucky number for me.
"I was nervous when I started with 16, 17 and 18 (with a three-shot lead) and I knew that if I make all the pars on those holes, I knew I was going to win this tournament."
Two of those holes – 16 and 18 – ended in a bogey, but when Boutier missed a short birdie at 16 and took a double at the last, it made little difference to Lee6.
"So my goal was, if I win the tournament, I can eat windows. If I complete the top five, I can buy shoes. But (now) I can buy shoes and eat windows. So it's a double," joked Lee6 when asked about winning the huge cash prize.
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