Minjee Lee set to end horror 2026 season with Tour Championship absence
Australia's triple major champion ends her 2026 season early after slumping to 24th in world rankings
Quick Look
- Australian golfer Minjee Lee will miss the LPGA Tour Championship for the first time since 2014 after ending her 2026 season early.
- Her world ranking has dropped from third to 24th, her equal-lowest standing in 11 years.
- Four other Australians are competing at The ANNIKA for spots at the November event in Naples.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Minjee Lee is an Australian triple major champion and 11-times LPGA Tour winner. She has not missed the season-ending Tour Championship since 2014. Her world ranking has fallen from third in October last year to 24th, her equal-lowest standing in 11 years.
Minjee Lee is set to miss the LPGA Tour Championship for the first time since 2014 after a horror season.
Lee's world ranking has dropped from third to 24th, her equal-lowest standing in 11 years.
Cassie Porter, Grace Kim, Karis Davidson and Robyn Choi are all hoping to join Hannah Green at the Tour Championship in Naples from November 19-22.
Minjee Lee will miss the LPGA's rich and prestigious Tour Championship for the first time in more than a decade after calling an end to her deflating 2026 season.
Australia's triple major champion has opted out of The ANNIKA, the all-important penultimate event of the year starting on Thursday, rendering Lee no chance of scraping into next week's $US11 million ($16 million) showpiece in Florida.
Lee hasn't missed the season-ending championship since 2014.
But after slumping from third in the world rankings last October to 24th, her equal-lowest standing in 11 years, the WA superstar has opted for a reset following her last-place finish at the Japan Classic on Sunday.
Battling swing issues, the 30-year-old has slumped to 79th in the season-long point standings, with only the top 60 to qualify for the Tour Championship in Naples from November 19-22.
The 11-times LPGA Tour winner tied for 13th last year, with her best result in the event being a share of seventh on debut as a teenager in 2015.
While Lee will be absent this week, four Australians will be striving to punch their tickets to the Tour Championship at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair.
Perched safely in 11th place in the points race, Hannah Green is also sitting out The ANNIKA tournament.
But Cassie Porter (47th), Grace Kim (51st), Karis Davidson (54th) and Robyn Choi (61st) are all teeing it up.
Currently one spot outside the qualification zone, Choi likely needs a top-30 finish to clinch a maiden berth at the Tour Championship after enjoying a fruitful Asian swing.
Having become the first woman ever to clinch player-of-the-year honours before the Tour Championship, world No.1 Nelly Korda is chasing more history this week.
The American can become the first LPGA professional to win the same event for the fourth time since The ANNIKA tournament namesake Annika Sorenstam in 2005.
Korda also has a chance to become the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to win the same tournament at least four times and the first since Se Ri Pak at the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic in 2003.
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Open Questions
- What specific swing issues has Minjee Lee been battling?
- Will Lee return for the 2027 LPGA season?
- Which of the four Australians competing at The ANNIKA will qualify for the Tour Championship?