In what was a historic day for women's golf, Andrea Lee, the No. 12 ranked amateur in the world, earned her spot as the first ever winner of the Women's Southern California Amateur Championship.
"I'm really, really proud of how I played," said Lee, a Hermosa Beach resident. "I've been playing really solid golf recently, hitting the ball well and putting extremely well. To be the first winner of this event means a lot to me."
Lee was the only competitor in the field to shoot three rounds under par on The Los Angeles CC's North Course, and one of just two players to finish the 54-hole event under par. Lee recorded rounds of 68, 69 and 69 to secure the victory in the inaugural event, which was jointly run by the SCGA and WSCGA, the two largest golf association's in Southern California.
"It's great to have an event like this for women in Southern California," said Lee. "There are so many great competitors in the area so to be able to compete against each other, at a site like this, in a tournament like this, is great."
Lee, who is heading into her senior year at Mira Costa High School, is fresh off a quarterfinals appearance at the U.S. Girls' Junior, where she was edged out by fellow SCGA member Angel Yin. After a long week of golf, Lee headed straight to LACC on Sunday for a practice round, before playing 36 holes of tournament golf Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday.
"I'm definitely tired," said Lee, who is verbally committed to play her college golf at Stanford. "But I feel really good about where my game is. I have one tournament left this summer, the Women's Amateur, so now I'm just focused on preparing for that."
Lee edged out her longtime friend Robynn Ree for this win, with Ree saving her best golf for the final day, recording the event's low round of 4-under-par 67. The closest Ree would get to closing the gap all day was four strokes, with Lee consistently keeping her foot on the gas. A chip-in for birdie on hole No. 11 followed by a birdie putt on No. 13 shortly after would all but close the deal for Lee. Ree would eventually finish three strokes behind the champion. Danielle Lee of La Mirada, 13-year-old Karah Sanford of Escondido and Rong Ji of Rancho Santa Fe round out the Top 5. Seventy-two players competed in the Championship, with the low 32 moving on after the 36-hole cut.
The top 10 finishers receive exemptions into next year's event, which will be held Aug. 8-9 at Rancho Santa Fe GC.