July 30th, 2026

By Australian Golf Digest

[Photo: Courtesy Ladies European Tour]

Three-time major winner Minjee Lee has vowed to wipe the slate clean and recapture some Lytham magic from eight years ago at this week’s AIG Women’s Open.

Lee is one of nine Australians and two Kiwis in action at Royal Lytham and St Annes for the final major championship of the golf year, New Zealander Amelia Garvey to lead the Australasian contingent out from 3:41pm AEST Thursday.

Not willing to share the nature of what caused her withdrawal from last week’s ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open when she was 23-over through 30 holes, Lee has consulted with coach Ritchie Smith to keep alive her hopes of completing the career Grand Slam.

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“I’ve had a few days to recover a little bit, so I’ve taken it easy the first few days and then yesterday a little bit more practise. But other than that, it’s been OK,” said Lee.

“I probably talk to Ritchie, my coach the most. Most of the time it’s a little thing in my swing or a little thing here and there.

“Golf is a funny game. It is humbling me at the moment, but there are many different people and different experiences I can think back or reflect to and talk to about stuff like this.

“I try and take the positives out of each week, even if I have a difficult week, and try and build up something from that.

“I have been on tour a long time and I do know how to bounce back and try and work things out.

“This is a new week and I’m just going to approach it like I do all the other weeks, how I start the week anyways.”

Key to a swift response will be Lee’s memories of this championship in 2018 when she matched the lowest round in an AIG Women’s Open at Lytham – 7-under 65 at – to lead after Round 1, albeit in vastly different conditions to what is expected this week.

“I just remember that day I played really early in the morning and there was not a breath of wind,” Lee recalled, going on to finish 10th that week, the second of five top 10s at the AIG Women’s Open to date.

“It was playing totally different when I came back and played the first couple times. I don’t even remember playing a wind like this so just really different conditions.

“Obviously great memories from that first round and good vibes. But I think this year I think it’s going to play a little bit differently. I mean, with the wind, it’s a totally different beast.”

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Making her 13th consecutive start in the championship, the AIG Women’s Open is one of two women’s majors Lee needs to complete the career Grand Slam.

The 30-year-old West Australian says the nature of links golf makes any expectations on winning virtually impossible.

“Obviously in terms of AIG and British and just the conditions that you play, you just don’t know what you’re going to get,” said Lee, who tees off in Round 1 at 5:20pm AEST.

“It’s just hard to get that far ahead of yourself, maybe let yourself get that far ahead.

“I just find it’s just really difficult sometimes with the winds and just the conditions that you’re given. It’s totally different to every other major. We only get say two weeks of links in the year, so it is a little bit different and you do attack it a little bit differently.”

Elsewhere this week two-time champion Cam Davis will be hoping to recapture some form at the Rocket Classic in Detroit and there are nine Aussies in the field for the PGA TOUR Champions’ first staging of the Portugal Invitational.