Minjee Lee blew her likelihood to turn out to be simply the fourth Australian to win three main championships dropping a three-shot lead amid a again 9 disaster which value her a second US Open — and the most important prize purse within the event’s historical past.
Having began the day in a three-way share of the lead, the world No.9 opened with a birdie and, regardless of two bogeys to observe, was nonetheless three photographs clear after eight holes as her rivals stumbled on the Lancaster County Membership in Pennsylvania because the “beast” lived as much as its moniker for many gamers.
However from there all of it went horribly fallacious for the 2022 champion, dropping 4 photographs in three holes, together with a three-putt bogey on the tenth which dropped her right into a tie with Japan’s Yuka Saso who then took the lead on the thirteenth gap and went on to safe a second US Open with a three-shot win, one among simply two gamers to complete beneath par.
On the identical time Saso went forward, Lee went into the water off the tee on the par three 12, the opening the place world No.1 Nelly Korda made a ten within the opening spherical.
The Australian walked off with a double-bogey and located herself three photographs behind Saso, with solely six holes to play, and continued to go backwards.
Lee made one other double-bogey on the 14th gap, adopted it with a bogey on the fifteenth to go from the highest of the leaderboard to simply inside the highest 10.
Her nightmare completed with an eight- over 78, seve-shots behind Saso, who collected the three.6 million first prize. Lee completed in a tie for ninth, her last spherical 12 photographs worse than her third spherical 66.
The 27-year-old Australian was trying to go previous two-time main winner Greg Norman and be a part of Karrie Webb (seven), Jan Stephenson (three) and Peter Thomson (5) as solely Australians to win greater than two golf majors.
Earlier than the ultimate spherical Lee, who cruised to her first US Open win in 2022, stated she would “undoubtedly embrace” the strain of main in to the ultimate day.
But it surely was a uncommon place for the 27-year-old to be in to date this season, having recorded a finest end of fourth in her eight occasions to begin 2024.
Lee had additionally missed consecutive cuts, and 3 times by means of six occasions to date in 2024, and had fallen exterior the highest 10, and having struggled for a lot of the 12 months, couldn’t discover her finest when it mattered.
She wanted the around her good buddy and world No.5 Hannah Inexperienced fired within the last spherical. Inexperienced, who was 14-shots behind Lee firstly of the day, closed with a four-under 66, the equal finest spherical of the whole week, to complete in a tie for sixteenth.
“I discovered Mel Reid’s saying, magnificence and the beast. It undoubtedly feels that approach,” she stated.
“At the moment it was a magnificence as a result of I clearly had a great spherical, but it surely felt like on the primary spherical it performed very completely different at present. It’s very simple to make bogeys and there are undoubtedly a variety of birdie alternatives, however you continue to have to provide your self these alternatives.”
Sarah Kemp was the nest better of the Australians ending in a tie for twenty ninth, whereas Gabi Ruffels was tied for 51st.
Each Lee and Inexperienced will characterize Australia on the Paris Olympics.