It’s not easy sleeping on a lead. Especially when that Sunday tee time creeps well past lunchtime.
For the first time since 1998, the winners of every LPGA major in a season held the 54-hole lead. The four majors in 1998 were won by Pat Hurst, Brandie Burton and Se Ri Pak (twice).
This year’s group hailed from five different countries, and two were first-timers. Minjee Lee enjoyed the most consistent year in the majors, which earned her the Rolex Annika Major Award. She posted four top-12 finishes in the five majors, with her worst showing, T-43, coming at the Amundi Evian Championship.
Lee ended the major season with the best cumulative score to par at 34-under, eight strokes better than In Gee Chun.
For everyone but Lee, winning a major in 2022 proved stressful til the bitter end, as big leads vanquished in the blink of an eye.
“If it’s going to be too easy, then I feel it is boring,” said Chun with a smile after her seven-stroke lead on Saturday was cut to three at the KPMG Women’s PGA.
Both Ashleigh Buhai at the AIG Women’s British Open and Chun at the KPMG carded final-round 75s, tying the highest final-round score at an LPGA major in the last 10 years (Inbee Park, 2013 KPMG Women’s PGA). The last major winner with a higher final-round score was Donna Caponi, who shot 77 at the U.S. Women’s Open 52 years ago.
And now, a look back on how the five major champions of 2022 managed to close the deal:
Jennifer Kupcho of the United States celebrates with The Dinah Shore Trophy after winning The Chevron Championship at The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa on April 03, 2022, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Jennifer Kupho built a six-shot lead heading into the final round of the Chevron Championship thanks to a sizzling 64 on Saturday. Turns out she’d need it all come Sunday when the smooth ride took a turn at the midway point.
As Kupcho went cold with bogeys on Nos. 8, 10, 13 and 14, Jessica Korda cranked up the heat, getting within two strokes with four to play. Kupcho held on though, despite bogeys on the last two holes, carding a closing 74 to win by two strokes and make her first LPGA victory a major.
“It’s special,” said Kupcho. “Honestly, I think one of the biggest things I’ve fought over the last year and a half is everyone is out here cheering for Nelly or Lexi or someone else I’m playing with. I don’t ever hear, Go, Jennifer.
“That was really special today, to have that.”
Minjee Lee of Australia poses with the trophy after winning the 77th U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club on June 05, 2022, in Southern Pines, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The only drama that took place at Pine Needles on Sunday was who would take home the second-place prize of $1,080,000.
Minjee Lee entered the final round with a three-stroke lead and finished at 13 under, four ahead of American Mina Harigae to claim her second major title. The 26-year-old Lee became the first Australian to win the U.S. Women’s Open since Karrie Webb triumphed at Pine Needles 21 years ago.
The only player in the field who carded four consecutive rounds under par, Lee came out firing on Sunday with birdies on the first two holes. Her 13-under 271 total is the lowest 72-hole score in U.S. Women’s Open history by one stroke.
“It’s been my dream since I was a little girl,” said Lee. “It’s the one that I always wanted to win and now I’ve done it, and just feels amazing.”
In Gee Chun of South Korea celebrates with the championship trophy after winning during the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club on June 26, 2022, in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
South Korea’s In Gee Chun opened with a course-record 64 at Congressional to storm out to a five-shot lead after the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA. By the end of Day 2, her lead was six. Comparisons to Rory McIlroy’s Congressional romp set the early tone.
Chun led by as many as seven over the weekend but then suddenly found herself down two to Lexi Thompson with three to play in the final round.
Chun came unraveled on Sunday with a front-nine 40, later admitting that the pressure got to her. Down the stretch, however, it was Thompson who faded with a panicked-looking putting stroke.
A birdie on the par-5 16th and two closing pars gave Chun a one-stroke victory and her third different major title. Chun shot 75-75 over the weekend.
“I’m so happy I made it,” she said. “My body is still shaking, though.”
Brooke M. Henderson of Canada poses with trophy after winning The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 24, 2022, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Brooke Henderson hadn’t won a major title in six years when she took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Evian. After opening the championship with record-setting back-to-back 64s, Henderson looked out of sorts on the sixth hole Sunday when she four-putted for a double-bogey. The miscue came after playing competitor So Yeon Ryu four-putted the previous hole.
A rattled Henderson was 3 over through 11 holes on Sunday and in danger of letting this one slip away. Seven players at one point shared the lead in that final round.
“I was playing poorly, and I was still in it,” said Henderson. “That was really an important message to get through my head.”
Rookie Sophia Schubert, playing in only her second major as a professional, pulled away with a one-shot lead deep into the round but was caught by Henderson, who birdied three of the last five, including a nine-footer at the last.
The winningest player in Canadian history finished at 17-under with a final-round even-par 71, good for a $1 million payday.
Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa poses with the AIG Women’s Open trophy on the eighteenth green after winning the play-off to become the 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion during Day Four of the AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield on August 07, 2022, in Gullane, Scotland. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
The quote of the day on Sunday at Muirfield came from champion Ashleigh Buhai as she described a near-catastrophic triple-bogey that occurred late in the round.
“You know, it was very easy to panic and probably come home in an ambulance,” said Buhai, who told herself internally to get back in it after her three-shot lead evaporated.
Buhai had built a five-shot lead heading into Sunday at the AIG Women’s British Open on the strength of two brilliant rounds of 65 and 64 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The South African owned the front nine all week, and now she’d need to hang on for dear life to claim her first LPGA title and major.
Buhai’s closing 75 put her in a playoff with Chun, who was looking to claim her fourth different major title. Down the 18th hole, they went a total of four extra times, with Buhai ultimately pulling off the up-and-down of her career from the “island” bunker to beat Chun and the dwindling daylight.
Buhai clasped her hands together and looked toward the heavens with a sigh of relief.
“I have said the last four or five years, I’ve finally started to find my feet on the LPGA and felt I could compete, and although I’m 33 now, I feel I’m playing the best golf of my career,” said Buhai. “It’s been a long journey, but man, it’s all worth it right now.”
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