Minjee Lee Rides Broomstick to KPMG Women's PGA Championship Win

Minjee Lee battled the wind, the heat, and the glacial pace of play at Fields Ranch East at Omni PGA Frisco, separating herself from the field and adding the KPMG Women's PGA Championship to her already impressive resume. The 29-year-old Australian joins countrywomen Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson on the shortlist of three-time major winners from Down Under.

This week demanded more out of the players than any other major in recent memory. Per Justin Ray, the scoring average of 75.6 is the highest since the 2013 U.S. Women's Open at Sebonack. Minjee's mental game was made for majors and tough setups. Her patience and composure were on full display as she plotted her way strategically around the course, rarely putting herself out of position. Her greatest weakness in the past, an unreliable putter, is now arguably the best club in her bag due to switching to a broomstick style earlier this year.

Facing a nine-foot par putt on the 13th green, the pressure was on Minjee to not give away any more of her lead. A shaky start with three bogeys in her first six holes shrunk the four-shot advantage and opened the door to the likes of Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen. The broomstick didn't let her down and she rode the par save momentum to two more birdies at Nos. 14 and 15, getting the lead back to four and providing a cushion down the stretch en route to her three-shot win.

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While Minjee will fondly remember Frisco, the early returns from Fields Ranch East, the course that will see three more men’s and women's majors in the next nine years, are mixed at best (more on that to come). Love it or hate it, the course unequivocally identified Minjee Lee as the best player this week. There's no debating that, and when a course and its setup allow the cream to rise to the top, it should be praised.

The week was far from perfect, though. Fields Ranch East absolutely shouldn't be hosting anything in the month of June, and needing to switch the ninth and 18th holes (a factor that attributed to slow play) to accommodate infrastructure is mind-boggling considering it was designed to host majors. Those are issues that will need to be solved before the women come back in 2031. This week looked and felt different than every other event this year, even the U.S. Women's Open to a certain extent. Professional golf needs more variety in its courses, conditions, and setups. Fields Ranch East gave us that and helped put Minjee's fantastic play heads above the rest of the field.

‍This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.