Minjee Lee’s change to a broomstick putter has made a major difference in her career, and it was a huge reason she’s now a three-time major winner.
One of the key additions to Lee’s bag in 2025 was Callaway’s Odyssey Ai-ONE Square 2 Square Broomstick #7 Putter, which Lee used to lead the field in putting at PGA Frisco. The putter’s centre-shaped design helps those putters stay square throughout the putting stroke.
Armed with a four-shot lead after 54 holes, Lee was steady in shooting a final-round two-over 74 to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, Texas. Lee needs just one more major to complete the career Grand Slam, having already won the U.S. Women’s Open and the Evian Championship. (The LPGA says winning four of its five majors constitutes a career Slam.)
The 29-year-old Australian worked her way out of trouble in the form of five bogeys (three times in four holes on the front nine) to win. She shot a four-day total of four-under 284 to win by three shots over Auston Kim and Chanettee Wannasaen. Lee, Kim and Wannasaen were the only players to finish under par for the championship, which presented challenges of sweltering heat, gusty winds and tricky pin locations.
Lee, who won $US1.8 million from the record-tying $US12 million purse, is one of 16 different players to win this season. No one has won multiple times.
“That is my ultimate goal,” Lee said. “I really want to be in the hall for fame, that’s why I started golf and wanted to be on the LPGA Tour. Win a bunch of tournaments and try to get into it. Seeing Lydia [Ko] do it, I’d really like to get there, but we’ll see how it goes after this week.”
Lee, who won for the 11th time on tour, said she looked at every leaderboard she could while she was walking the course and enjoying the steady putts with that broomstick putter. She was confident but it was clear that she still battled the nerves, too.
“I did look at every leaderboard and knew where I was and terms of score and just want to be clear I definitely was nervous,” Lee said. “I wasn’t sure if it was the heat that made my heart beat more. I looked calm but not as clam as everybody thinks.”
She cooked. 👩🍳 Congratulations to our Champion, Minjee Lee.#KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/m7jhZcKXKW
— KPMG Women's PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 22, 2025
After she sunk her final par putt on the 72nd hole, she dropped her putter and raised her arms to her head. Then she got a champagne celebration from fellow Australian Hannah Green and others, like her good friend Lydia Ko.
That sizzling putter helped her lead the field in strokes gained/putting in Texas. What a difference. Last year, she was 137th on tour in strokes gained/putting. Now, this victory was her first since 2023, when she put the long putter in her bag. This was also her fourth top-10 finish of the year.
Lee made critical back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 with nine-foot putts on both holes to seal the championship. She bogeyed 16, but parred the final two holes, knowing she simply had to play mistake-free golf with a three-shot lead.
She also becomes the 31st player in LPGA history to win three or more major championships, and she’s the fifth active player to win three or more majors, joining Ko, Yani Tseng, Anna Nordqvist and In Gee Chun.
Sam Hodde
World No. 1 Nelly Korda shot a four-over 76 and tied for 19th.
Auston Kim started the day nine shots back and pulled within two shots of Lee on the back nine but couldn’t get closer. Kim shot a bogey-free four-under 68 in the final round. It was the best chance the 24-year-old Vanderbilt product has had in a major. She’d never finished better than T-30 in a major. Jeeno Thitikul and Chisato Iwai, finished five shots back in a tie for fourth.
Minjee’s brother, Min Woo, who plays on the PGA Tour, taped congratulatory message for his sister. He tied for 63rd place at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut and finished his final-round 72 only about 10 minutes before his big sister put the finishing touches on her victory.
“I called it a couple months ago that she was going to win,” Min Woo said. “It’s nice to be a major winner and her game is built for the majors. She’s very solid and her mental side is one of the best I’ve ever seen. So mix that in with some good putting and good short game and, yeah, she’s going to win. It’s very exciting to see her back in the winner’s circle and I’m very proud of her.”
Lee admits that the 2022 US Women’s Open victory at Pine Needles is her favourite. She played well that week and walked away with a four-shot win. This one, however—because of the difficulty of the golf course, the steady wind and extreme heat all week—Lee believes was her biggest challenge.
“In terms of my most deserved,” she said, “I think this is the one.”