In 2024, two-time major champion Minjee Lee had the worst season of her LPGA Tour career. She finished No. 54 in the CME Standings, went winless for the first time since 2020, had only one top-20 finish in a major and had her lowest finish on the money list by over 25 spaces.
Much of the reason for that came down to one club, the putter. Lee lost 1.02 strokes putting on the LPGA Tour in 2024. That ranked No. 157 on the tour. Lee had just four top-10 finishes in 21 starts despite leading the tour in strokes gained approach and being second on the tour in strokes gained tee-to-green. Outside of one club, she was still the elite player everyone expects her to be.
To Lee and her team’s credit, they made a drastic change in the offseason. Lee switched to a long, broom-style putter and the results were immediate. In the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Lee led the field in strokes gained putting, leading her to a fourth place finish.
The putter has stayed that strong. This season, Lee is gaining .97 strokes putting on the rest of the tour. That is good enough to rank No. 8. She has almost matched her top-10s total from 2024 and is No. 13 in the CME Standings. While her approach game hasn’t been to the level it has the rest of her career, where she’s arguably the best iron player of her generation, she’s being saved by the flat stick.
That brings us to the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where Lee had her best putting day of the season and arguably her best round overall. While Jeeno Thitikul’s incredible putting performance stole the headlines of the day, Lee was matching her almost the entire round.
Lee sits one stroke back of Thitikul at -3. Lee is also the only player who nearly could match her on the greens. Lee gained 4.563 strokes putting, which was .6 more than third place, Allisen Corpuz.
Like Thitikul, Lee was a bit of a mess off the tee Thursday, but if she can get her driving straightened out, don’t be surprised to see her claim her third major championship victory.
