World No.1 amateur Minjee Lee has been part of Australian amateur teams, but this week she will be part of the Australian team at this week’s inaugural International Crown event on the LPGA. Lee will be representing Australia alongside Karrie Webb, Katherine Kirk and Lindsey Wright.
Lee started the year playing some of her best golf, she played in all the ALPG Tour major events and was in contention in a number of the tournaments including the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. She topped off the ALPG season with a stunning win at the Oates Victorian Open to secure her first professional title.
Since the ALPG Tour finished the talented Australian has gained numerous starts on the LPGA and has certainly held her own. Her performances in the majors have been impressive; she finished in the top 25 at both the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Women’s US Open.
We caught up earlier this week with Minjee and asked her a few questions.
Q: How excited are you to be playing for Australia in a team competition?
A: Very excited to be part of this new event, playing for my country with a great bunch of girls!
Q: What are you looking forward to the most about the week?
A: Playing as a team and playing matchplay because I know the girls don’t play any matchplay out on tour so it’s going to be a good little change up for them!
Q: We are ranked 7th but I believe the Aussie team spirit and competitiveness will give our team an edge – do you agree?
A: Of course, we may not be the top ranked but I think the Aussies are always kind of the underdogs so we will go out there, have fun & give it our best shot.
Q: We start with South Korea, thoughts on facing them in Round one?
A: I think it’ll be a great experience playing with the girls from Korea & since it is matchplay fourball, you never know what is going to happen. It will be lots of fun!
Q: What is your most anticipated match? Why?
A: I don’t really have a most anticipated match because I’m pretty excited to play every country in our pool!
Q: What do you like most about playing in a team environment?
A: I love the atmosphere of the team environment & it’s always really exciting to be playing for something & your team, it makes you want to play even better!
Q: What do you think about the format, four ball?
A: I think it will be fun because it’s different from singles matches. It’s going to be matchplay so I’m sure the matches will be very competitive!
A total of 32 players from eight countries will square off in a unique match play battle over the course of four days at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., to determine world supremacy among the LPGA Tour’s top countries. An epically global Tour, the LPGA has long been a showcase for the best and brightest players from around the world, and that will be clearly represented this week.
The countries will match up in pool play Thursday through Saturday. The top two countries with the most points in each pool will automatically advance to Sunday’s singles matches. The country with the third most points in each pool will compete in a wildcard playoff on Saturday night to determine the fifth and final country to advance to Sunday. Each country will play one singles match against every other country on Sunday and the country with the most total points at the end of the final day will be crowned the champion.
