Alison Lee made more history on Sunday at the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Riyadh as she fired a final round 65 (-7) to cruise to a flawless eight-shot victory and break the 54-hole scoring record on the Ladies European Tour.
Having etched her name into the record books with back-to-back rounds of 61 (-11) on Friday and Saturday at Riyadh Golf Club, the American continued her relentless form carding seven birdies and dropping no shots to ease to a second LET victory.
With a winning score of 29-under par, Lee crushes the previous 54-hole scoring record set by Scotland’s Kylie Henry by five shots (2014 Ladies German Open) and equals the overall tally set by set by France’s Gwladys Nocera, a score set previously over 72 holes at the 2008 Goteborg Masters.
On top of that, Lee becomes the second player in history to win an LET tournament without dropping a single shot – Italy’s Diana Luna the first at 2011 UniCredit Ladies German Open presented by Audi.
“It’s surreal to think I played that well,” Lee said. “Shooting 11-under, 11-under over the first two days, I’ve obviously never done that in my career. I’m really happy to be here!
“I feel like for three days I played really confident golf. Coming off a really good week last week (Lee finished runner-up at the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA) gave me a lot of confidence coming into this week.”
Starting the day six shots ahead of Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, winning captain of the Team competition, the pair both got off to solid starts birdying the 3rd and 4th holes.
Things then got interesting when the Solheim Cup star eagled the par-5 5th and birdied the par-4 6th to reduce Lee’s lead to three shots.
But a clutch birdie from Lee on the 7th followed by a bogey from Ciganda on the 8th quickly ended any sign of a dramatic comeback, with the American able to cruise to victory on the back nine.
“She [Carlota] started off the round great,” the American said. “But I just kept my cool. I knew I had been hitting it well. I knew there was a ton of birdie opportunities coming down the stretch.”
Chasing the LET tournament record of 29-under par – a tally set by Gwladys Nocera over 72 holes at the 2008 Goteberg Masters – Lee picked up birdies on the 11th, 13th, and 15th to stand on the brink of more history with three holes remaining.
Two pars on the 16th and 17th meant it all came down to the 18th – just at it had yesterday with Lee chasing the 18-hole scoring record – but the 28-year-old’s six-feet effort had too much pace as she settled for a par.
Lee said: “I’m really happy with the composure I was able to keep throughout the round. I didn’t want to embarrass myself losing a six shot lead coming into today! It’s nice to be able to able to play that freely.”
Ciganda finished eight shots back in second place on 21-under par, her best ever three round tally on the LET. Solheim Cup teammate Charley Hull from England fired a final round 66 (-6) to finish in solo third on 18-under par.
England’s Bronte Law ended the week one shot worse after a wonderful 65 (-7) on Sunday. The one-time LET winner shares fourth place with Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab who jumps to third in the Race to Costa del Sol.
Major winners Minjee Lee and Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg share sixth spot on 16-under par – the latter recording her 26th top-10 on the LET and first since 2021.
Three players make up the top-10 in a tie for eighth on 15-under, a trio which includes two-time Major winner Lilia Vu from the USA, England’s Georgia Hall, and South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace.
In the 2023 Race to Costa Del Sol, the aforementioned Cheenglab makes the most significant move jumping from fifth to third on 1,641.72 points. She also extends her lead in the Rookie of the Year standings.
The top two of France’s Celine Boutier and India’s Diksha Dagar remain the same, with left-hander now 72.27 points behind the Major winner who won her fourth event of the season on the LPGA today.
Following the conclusion of the fifth and final Aramco Team Series event of 2023, two tournaments on the LET schedule with a Spanish doubleheader taking place next month at the Mallorca Ladies Open and Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana.
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