Minjee Lee overcomes Charley Hull in 2-hole playoff to win Kroger Queen City Championship

MADEIRA, Ohio − The mental hurdle in golf is arguably the toughest to clear. On Sunday, Minjee Lee did just that, recovering to capture the Kroger Queen City Championship Presented by P&G title after squandering a lead.

"Super special. I feel really happy and feel like I really deserve this one," Lee said.

Lee held a two-stroke lead going into Sunday's final at Kenwood Country Club and led by as many as four strokes, but slowly saw that advantage disappear over the back nine despite playing clean golf with just one bogey.

More: Live results: Final round of Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club

Charley Hull, No. 11 in the CME Rankings, overcame two bogeys in a three-hole span on the back nine and closed the gap with three consecutive birdies from holes 14-16.

Lee's only bogey was a costly one on 12, when she overshot the green out of play and allowed Hull, who also took a bogey on the hole after finding the water, to gain a stroke.

In a playoff, both Hull and Lee managed pars on the first hole, despite Hull overshooting the green and having to putt from the fringe after taking a club's length of relief. On the second tiebreaker, both players missed the fairway left, but Lee followed with a strong pitching wedge from the rough that left her with a five-footer for the tournament-winning birdie.

Lee has now won six titles out of the eight times in her LPGA Tour career when she's held a 54-hole lead.

"I guess I just have a lot of grit coming down the stretch. I'm always putting pressure on my opponents. I think I have a lot of fight," Lee said.

Aside from the double bogey on 12, Lee played consistent golf over the weekend to capture her ninth career LPGA Tour victory. Lee shot a bogey-free 65 with seven birdies on Saturday to move to the top of the leaderboard and opened Sunday's finals with a 3-under 33 on the front nine.

Lee, who won twice in 2022, including the U.S. Open, recorded her first victory of the 2023 season but has now logged 10 top 25 finishes and is projected to move to 13th in the CME Projected Standings. Lee did not make the cut in the inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship last year.

"I worked really hard for this one and worked really hard in my game. I know that I deserve this one," Lee said. "It feels a little more rewarding knowing that all the hard work you put in has paid off."

Hull, who was the runner-up at the AIG Women's Open in August and tied for second at the U.S. Open in July, is projected to move up four spots to No. 7.

Ruoning Yin projected to claim CME World No. 1 ranking

Heading into the Kroger Queen City Championship, Yin, from China, rated as CME’s No. 2 golfer in the world with the potential to jump to No. 1. All Yin had to do, as projected, was finish in the top four– something the 20-year-old second-year pro had done six times in 2023.

Yin shot a 14-under par (274) to finish third place in Cincinnati.

“My mind is blank right now,” Yin said. “(On the) last hole I checked the leaderboard and I was like ‘OK, another week finishing third’ but assuming I’ll be the World No. 1. It’s just amazing.”

In her quest to World No. 1 in Cincinnati Yin went three days bogey-free. She never led the field, but her four-day score card of 68-66-73-67 represents a slow, meticulous climb up the leaderboard. Yin hit 34 of 56 fairways, saved seven bunker shots, and putted an average of 29 times per 18-holes. Yin’s only stain on the scorecard came on three holes in a row, the opening three, in round three, where she bogeyed. That’s 36 straight bogey-free holes before, and 33 bogey-free holes after.

Yin sits in second in the Race to CME Globe with seven events left to play in 2023. The CME Globe is the season-long points competition in the LPGA, and Yin is only 23 points off first place Celine Boutier.

2022 champ Ally Ewing cements top 5 finish

Cincinnati’s inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship winner, Ewing, rode a 6-under final round score to shoot from 15th to fourth on the final leaderboard. Ewing, who shot a 22-under to win in 2022, shot a 12-under (276) this time around. The fourth-place finish is her highest all season and best finish since winning in Cincinnati a year ago.

“There is always something really special about being announced on the first tee as a champion and have the warm welcome of fans and still engaging, still cheering for me,” Ewing said. “The fan support has been great and Cincinnati has been great. I love everything about Kenwood Country Club. I seem to keep putting together some good rounds (in Cincinnati). Can’t complain with that.”

Ewing, CME’s No. 33 golfer, posted a four-day scorecard of 69-70-71-66. Her 6-under 66 Sunday was the joint-best score of the final round.

“Today I drove it really well,” Ewing said, “gave myself a lot of birdie looks, which I know if I’m giving myself a lot of birdie looks I’ve got a chance to go low.”

Ewing’s seven birdies Sunday were the most of all golfers in the top 10.

More notable results

• Queen City Championship’s lowest-ranked top-10 finisher this year is Morgane Metraux, who is CME’s No. 107 golfer. Metraux is one of five golfers that tied for fifth; the quintet shot 11-under (277) across the four rounds in Cincinnati. No. 97 Mel Reid (T-5) and No. 176 Cydney Clanton (T-11) round out what made for an impressive weekend from some LPGA athletes looking to climb the rankings.

• Peiyun Chien, who led the field after round two at Kenwood Country Club, fell to tied-fifth after shooting a 2-over 74 in the final round. Chien shot a tournament-best 8-under on day two before shooting over par on the final two days. LPGA’s No. 60 golfer grabbing fifth in Cincinnati is her second-best finish of 2023.

• Shooting an even 72 on Sunday is Rose Zhang, whose 5-under (283) final scorecard takes a joint-31st place finish. Zhang, one of LPGA’s rising stars, is only 20 years old and already boasts a tour win (Mizuho Americas Open) in her rookie year. Zhang was the first rookie to win on her debut since 1951.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Minjee Lee captures Kroger Queen City Championship title in playoff