Watch live coverage of the Solheim Cup exclusively on Sky Sports; the opening ceremony begins at 5pm on Thursday September 21, with live coverage of the opening day on Friday September 22 from 6.30am
Monday 11 September 2023 06:58, UK
England's Charley Hull agonisingly lost out in a play-off as Minjee Lee claimed victory at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio.
Hull carded 69 for her final round at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati to force the play-off and close the two-shot lead that two-time major winner Lee had to begin the day.
Both women replayed the par-four 18th hole and made par. On their second time down the 18th, Hull's approach landed neatly on the green, but Lee followed by blasting out of the rough, her shot bouncing up onto the green and nestling about three feet away from the cup.
Hull missed her birdie putt and Lee tapped in her birdie, winning her first LPGA title since the 2022 US Women's Open.
For Hull, it's a fifth second-placed finish of the season.
Lee claimed a ninth LPGA Tour victory of her career, and admitted she was determined to get over the line.
"I had a few moments where I really felt like I was losing but I wasn't," she said. "I was like 'let's play to the end and see where we end up'.
"I really wanted to reset my goals here, finish off on a high and I got the win, which is nice."
Lee held a two-stroke lead after 54 holes and birdied the second, seventh and eighth holes Sunday to move to 18-under par. But a costly double bogey at the par-five 12th brought her back down to the pack.
She parred the six remaining holes, allowing Hull to catch her with three straight birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th hole.
"The score was, we were pretty much tied," Lee said. "I just played every shot to the best I could."
China's Ruoning Yin posted a 67 to finish third at 14-under par. Ally Ewing, who won last year's inaugural edition of the tournament, placed fourth this year at 12 under after a final-round 66.
A large tie for fifth at 11-under par featured Mel Reid of England (66 Sunday), Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea (67), Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand (71), Japan's Yuka Saso (72), Swizterland's Morgane Metraux (73) and Peiyun Chien of Taiwan (74).
Who will win the 2023 Solheim Cup? Watch exclusively live this September on Sky Sports! Live coverage from the opening ceremony begins at 5pm on Thursday September 21, with live coverage of the opening day on Friday September 22 from 6.30am. Stream the Solheim Cup and more with NOW.
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