Long story short, 54-hole leader Minjee Lee shot a final-round 70 to pull out a victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup by two shots over Lexi Thompson and continue the event’s uncanny history of its winners all also being Major champions.
But that leaves out how tight things got on Sunday for the 25-year-old Aussie at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey, where Thompson, trying to win for the first time in three years, applied plenty of heat. Thompson made three birdies over her first 12 holes to catch Lee at 17-under.
Lee played solid golf on Sunday, her putter not being entirely cooperative on the day. She made a bogey on the eighth hole and a birdie on the 12th, then one more birdie on the 14th to take back the outright lead. A last birdie for good measure on the 18th hole left Lee at 19-under 269 total to claim her seventh career LPGA title and the first since she won the Amundi Evian Championship last July.
With the victory, Lee claimed the $US450,000 first place prizemoney payout from the $3 million purse that was up for grabs. Here’s the prizemoney payouts for each golfer who made the cut in the Cognizant Founders Cup.
[*All figures in US dollars]
1: Minjee Lee, -19, $450,000
2: Lexi Thompson, -17, $273,190
T-3: Angel Yin, -16, $175,744
T-3: Madelene Sagstrom, -16, $175,744
5: Carlota Ciganda, -15, $123,396
T-6: Nasa Hataoka, -14, $92,733
T-6: Megan Khang, -14, $92,733
T-8: Atthaya Thitikul, -13, $70,299
T-8: Hye-Jin Choi, -13, $70,299
10: Jenny Shin, -12, $60,576
11: Sarah Schmelzel, -10, $56,087
T-12: Lydia Ko, -9, $46,366
T-12: Yuka Saso, -9, $46,366
T-12: Lauren Stephenson, -9, $46,366
T-12: Mina Harigae, -9, $46,366
T-12: Sanna Nuutinen, -9, $46,366
T-17: Ayaka Furue, -8, $35,837
T-17: Xiyu Janet Lin, -8, $35,837
T-17: Jin Young Ko, -8, $35,837
T-17: Jennifer Kupcho, -8, $35,837
T-17: Paula Reto, -8, $35,837
T-22: Albane Valenzuela, -7, $27,587
T-22: Ryann O’Toole, -7, $27,587
T-22: Kelly Tan, -7, $27,587
T-22: Bianca Pagdanganan, -7, $27,587
T-22: Alison Lee, -7, $27,587
T-22: Pajaree Anannarukarn, -7, $27,587
T-22: Cheyenne Knight, -7, $27,587
T-22: Frida Kinhult, -7, $27,587
T-22: In Gee Chun, -7, $27,587
T-31: Jaye Marie Green, -6, $21,238
T-31: Chella Choi, -6, $21,238
T-31: Anna Nordqvist, -6, $21,238
T-31: Ally Ewing, -6, $21,238
T-35: Amy Yang, -5, $16,004
T-35: Min Lee, -5, $16,004
T-35: Ruixin Liu, -5, $16,004
T-35: Celine Boutier, -5, $16,004
T-35: Lauren Coughlin, -5, $16,004
T-35: A Lim Kim, -5, $16,004
T-35: Katherine Perry-Hamski, -5, $16,004
T-35: Maria Fassi, -5, $16,004
T-35: Sophia Popov, -5, $16,004
T-35: Lilia Vu, -5, $16,004
T-45: Sung Hyun Park, -4, $11,816
T-45: Eun-Hee Ji, -4, $11,816
T-45: Amanda Doherty, -4, $11,816
T-45: Jennifer Song, -4, $11,816
T-45: Caroline Inglis, -4, $11,816
T-50: Jodi Ewart Shadoff, -3, $9,423
T-50: Gerina Mendoza, -3, $9,423
T-50: Brittany Lang, -3, $9,423
T-50: Gemma Dryburgh, -3, $9,423
T-50: Dana Finkelstein, -3, $9,423
T-50: Annie Park, -3, $9,423
T-50: Anna Davis, -3, Amateur
T-50: Lindsey Weaver-Wright, -3, $9,423
T-50: Brittany Altomare, -3, $9,423
T-59: Peiyun Chien, -2, $7,666
T-59: Na Yeon Choi, -2, $7,666
T-59: Isi Gabsa, -2, $7,666
T-59: Jeongeun Lee5, -2, $7,666
63: Sarah Kemp, -1, $7,178
T-64: Gina Kim, E, $6,805
T-64: Dottie Ardina, E, $6,805
T-64: Matilda Castren, E, $6,805
T-64: Brittany Lincicome, E, $6,805
T-68: Sei Young Kim, +1, $6,207
T-68: Stephanie Meadow, +1, $6,207
T-68: Jiwon Jeon, +1, $6,207
T-68: Giulia Molinaro, +1, $6,207
T-72: Georgia Hall, +2, $5,871
T-72: Charlotte Thomas, +2, $5,871
T-74: Weiwei Zhang, +3, $5,685
T-74: Aditi Ashok, +3, $5,685
T-74: Liz Nagel, +3, $5,685
T-77: Savannah Vilaubi, +4, $5,509
T-77: Lauren Hartlage, +4, $5,509
79: Ana Belac, +6, $5,404
80: Hee Young Park, +7, $5,335
