Pumped up purse a bonus as Perth’s Minjee Lee eyes another major at Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional

Minjee Lee’s bid for a third major in her last five attempts got off to a rocky start when her clubs went missing but the world No.3 will have extra incentive when the rich KPMG Women’s PGA Championship starts on Thursday. The WA superstar is eyeing another potential financial windfall at Congressional Country Club in Washington DC, with the PGA purse doubling to US$9 million ($12.95million) this year. Lee won the richest prize in women’s golf at the US Open nearly three weeks ago when she took home $2.5 million but can add another $1.94 million to her back account if she becomes the first back-to-back women’s major winner since Inbee Park in 2013. After being reunited with her US Open-winning set of sticks on Monday, a day later than anticipated, 26-year-old Lee said major championship course set-ups suited her forensic approach to the game. “I like to embrace the challenge and I think the harder golf courses get, the better I play,” Lee said. “You do have to focus a little bit more on smaller details. “So I think that’s where I kind of excel. And when I play under pressure, that is where I think I excel as well.” Congressional Country Club hosts its first women’s major this week, with the course undergoing a renovation since Rory McIlroy blitzed the field by eight shots at the 2011 US Open. Lee said she hadn’t yet played a practice round at the historic course but her caddy, Jason Gilroyed, filled her in on what to expect. “My caddie actually told me some holes, even if you hit a good shot, you might not be rewarded,” Lee said. “Patience is the key around here.” Mount Lawley’s Hannah Green, winner of the 2019 Women’s PGA Championship, will also tee it up this week along with Australians Su Oh, Steph Kyriacou, Sarah Jane Smith, Sarah Kemp and Katherine Kirk. World No.2 Nelly Korda will defend the title she won in Atlanta last year and is confident her game is back. Korda returned at the US Open following a three-month stint on the sidelines after surgery to remove a blood clot in her left arm and lost a playoff at last week’s Meijer Classic in Michigan. “I gave myself a chance last week,” Korda said. “If you told me that when I was laying in the ER, I would have definitely been very happy with that.”