Andrea Lee earned her maiden LPGA title by winning the Portland Classic on September 18 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon. The former World No.1 amateur bounced back with eight birdies in a 12-hole stretch to clinch the title. She eventually closed her final round with a 6-under 66 to win the 72-hole tournament on 19-under 269.
Ecstatic with her victory, Andrea Lee thanked her parents and grandparents for their support.
“It’s more than anything I could have imagined,” said Lee. “I cannot believe it.”
She scored well enough for a one-stroke victory over Ecuador's Daniella Darquea, who closed with three consecutive birdies to shoot 66 and finish 270 overall.
This was quite a comeback for Andrea Lee, whose game went off track to the point where her LPGA status suffered. She had to start the year on the Developmental Epson Tour. However, she climbed her way out by winning the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic on the Epson Tour.
"I just can't believe I'm standing here after what I went through last year and the beginning of this year.... I am still in shock right now," said Lee.
She has surely come into the limelight with her victory at the Portland Classic, but let's discover more about Andrea's early life and amateur career.
Andrea Lee held the World No. 1 rank in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 17 weeks
A golf prodigy, Andrea Lee was born on August 15, 1998 in California. She started training at the age of five under the guidance of her father, James. The American golfer started competing at age 8 and won 50 junior titles in four years. At 15, she qualified for the 2014 US Women's Open and made it through the tournament.
She ended her 2014 season as the No. 1 ranked player as per the American Junior Golf Association after winning two big events - the Rolex Tournament of Champions and Yani Tseng Invitational. In 2015, she led Mira Costa High School to the state title in 2015.
Being the top-most junior player in the country, Andrea Lee represented the US in the Junior Ryder Cup, Junior Solheim Cup, and Curtis Cup. She was also a silver medalist in the 2015 Pan American Games in the individual and mixed team event. In addition, she won the team gold at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei.
Lee played for Stanford University from 2016 to 2019 where she set a school record with eight individual titles, topping the Golfweek college rankings. In 2019, she won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading women's player as per the 2019 World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Andrea Lee turned professional in 2019
After T30 in the LPGA Q-Series, Lee turned professional as she qualified for the 2020 LPGA Tour. In her rookie season, she finished fifth-tied at the Marathon Classic and seventh-tied at the 2020 Women's British Open.
She won her first professional title at the 2022 Casino Del Sol Golf Classic on the Epson Tour.
Lee reached her career's highest point on September 18, 2022, when she won her first LPGA title by winning the Portland Classic and taking home the prize money of $225,000.