19 Oct 2022 | Professional golf |

Aussies on Tour: Lee closing in on multiple LPGA awards

by Dane Heverin

Minjee Lee.

World number three Minjee Lee returns to the LPGA Tour at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea this week with the chance to move one step closer to securing a haul of trophies at the season’s end.

The US Women’s Open champion has already won the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award as the best player in the five majors this year, and she is currently leading the Rolex Player of the Year, the Money Title and the Aon Risk Reward Challenge with four events remaining in the season.

A third victory for the year would almost sew up each of those awards, while also elevating Lee from second to first in the Vare Trophy - for lowest scoring average - and the Race to CME Globe standings.

To do so, the West Australian will need to rectify a form slump which has resulted in three missed cuts in her three most starts, but she has added motivation to turn her game around courtesy of playing in front of her Korean relatives.

“I'm always going to do my best regardless of the event. Obviously my parents are Korean and I have deep Korean roots, so it would be a great honour to win in Korea,” Lee said.

In a boost for Australian golf fans, Lee recently confirmed that she will be playing alongside her younger brother Min Woo at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Melbourne from December 1-4 and when she comes home again, she wants to be bringing more silverware with her.

“It would be such a great honour to be Player of the Year, but I know that there's a few behind me that are pretty close,” she said.

“So I think I've got to play really well the next few events that I'm playing in and see what happens at the end of the season.”

Major champion Hannah Green is also in action in Korea this week for her first start since finishing tied third in Portland last month, while Su Oh is out to end a streak of 11 straight missed cuts and move up from 100th place on the Race to CME Globe rankings with the top 100 at season’s end holding their LPGA Tour card for next year.

Another Australian major champion, who has confirmed their place in the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open, is in Asia this week with Adam Scott teeing it up at the Japan Open Golf Championship.

A global ambassador for Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, Scott returns to Japan after being a regular in the national championship prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and he finished in a tie for fifth in his most recent appearance at the event in 2019.

The world No.32 is the best ranked Australian in the field which includes fellow top-15 finisher at the 150th Open Anthony Quayle, Brad Kennedy who also impressed at St Andrews earlier this year and New South Wales amateur Harrison Crowe who won his home state’s Open in March and has been invited to compete this week.

Scott’s Presidents Cup teammate Cam Davis left Japan this week as the PGA Tour returns to the United States for the CJ Cup in South Carolina.

Davis will be joined by major champion Jason Day at the Congaree Golf Club as he looks to capitalise on his recent good form and capture a second career PGA Tour victory.

Round 1 tee times AEDT

LPGA Tour

BMW Ladies Championship

Oak Valley Country Club, Republic of Korea

  • 10.30am* Stephanie Kyriacou, Jennifer Song, Leona Maguire

  • 11.25am* Hannah Green, Linn Grant, Haeji Kang

  • 11.58am* Su Oh, Pauline Roussin, Jenny Shin

  • 12.03pm Lydia Ko (NZ), Pajaree Anannarukarn, A Lim Kim

  • 12.47pm Minjee Lee, Jin Young Ko, Atthaya Thitikul

Defending champion: Jin Young Ko

Past Aussie winners: Nil

Top Aussie prediction: Minjee Lee

TV schedule: Live 2pm-6pm Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Fox Sports 505

Japan Golf Tour

Japan Open Golf Championship

Sanko Golf Club, Japan Course

  • 9.15am* Brad Kennedy, Jinichiro Kozuma, Tomohiro Kondo

  • 10.05am Adam Bland, Yutaka Toyoshima, Azuma Yano

  • 1.45pm Adam Scott, Keita Nakajima, Kazuki Higa

  • 2.15pm* Todd Sinnott, Terumichi Kakazu, Yuta Uetake

  • 2.35pm Anthony Quayle, Katsumasa Miyamoto, Ryuichi Oiwa

  • 2.35pm* Harrison Crowe (a), Koki Domeki, Ryo Katsumata

Defending champion: Shaun Norris

Past Aussie winners: Paul Sheehan (2006), Craig Parry (1997)

Top Aussie prediction: Adam Scott

PGA Tour

The CJ Cup in South Carolina

Congaree Golf Club, Ridgeland, South Carolina

  • 12.39am Jason Day, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry

  • 3.25am Cam Davis, Sepp Straka, Webb Simpson

Defending champion: Rory McIlroy

Past Aussie winners: Nil

Top Aussie prediction: Cam Davis

TV schedule: Live 6am-9am Friday, Saturday and Sunday; and Live 5.30am-8.30am Monday on Fox Sports 505

DP World Tour

Mallorca Golf Open

Son Muntaner Golf Club, Palma, Mallorca, Spain

  • 10.10pm* Jason Scrivener, David Horsey, Lucas Bjerregaard

  • 10.30pm Ryan Fox (NZ), Jeff Winther, Adrian Otaegui

  • 10.40pm* Scott Hend, Daniel Gavins, Joost Luiten

  • 10.50pm* Maverick Antcliff, Romain Langasque, Jonathan Caldwell

Defending champion: Jeff Winther

Past Aussie winners: Nil

Top Aussie prediction: Jason Scrivener

TV schedule: Live 10.30pm-3.30am Thursday, Friday; Live 11pm-3.30am Saturday; Live 10.30pm-2.30am Sunday on Fox Sports 505

Ladies European Tour

Hero Women’s Indian Open

DLF Golf and Country Club, India

  • 1.00pm Adele Huggard, Josefine Nyqvist, Neha Tripathi

  • 5.05pm Amy Walsh, Harang Lee, Nishtha Madan

  • 5.15pm Whitney Hillier, Anne-Charlotte Mora, Luna Sobron Galmes

  • 5.45pm Jordan O’Brien, Sophie Witt, Amandeep Drall

Defending champion: Christine Wolf

Past Aussie winners: Nil

Top Aussie prediction: Whitney Hillier

Champions Tour

Dominion Energy Charity Classic

The Country Club of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia

Australasians in the field: Steven Alker (NZ), Stuart Appleby, Mark Hensby, David McKenzie, Rod Pampling

Defending champion: Scott McCarron

Past Aussie winners: Nil

Top Aussie prediction: Stuart Appleby

Legends Tour

Italian Senior Open

Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, Porto Ercole, Italy

Australasians in the field: Michael Campbell (NZ), Michael Long (NZ)

Defending champion: James Kingston

Past Aussie winners: Terry Gale (2004)

Top Australasian prediction: Michael Campbell

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