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The Best Putting Tips From KPMG Women's PGA Champion Minjee Lee
By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on
As Minjee Lee was wrapping up the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for her third major title, one statistic jumped out at me more than any other.
It wasn't her three-shot victory margin or her impressive ball-striking under brutal conditions, it was the fact that she led the field in strokes gained: putting for the week.
Let me put this in perspective for you.
Just one year ago, Lee ranked 157th on the LPGA Tour in strokes gained: putting. This season, after switching to a long broomstick-style putter, she's climbed to 8th. That's not just improvement—that's a complete transformation of the most crucial aspect of her game.
Lee after sinking the winning putt to capture her third major.
What Lee accomplished at Fields Ranch East, where the scoring average hovered just over 75—the highest for any LPGA major in over a decade—was a masterclass in putting under pressure. While other players struggled with the wind and firm conditions, Lee's newfound confidence on the greens became the foundation for her third major championship victory.
Here's what I love most, as a PGA Coach, about Lee's putting breakthrough: every element of her transformation is completely applicable to your game, whether you're trying to break 100 or win your club championship.
The Mental Side of Putting Transformation
Lee was refreshingly honest about her putting struggles after her victory. "I feel like I had a lot of doubt the past few years with my putting," she admitted. "I think the more I heard media and other people saying things about my putting, I think it got to me more and more over time."
This resonates deeply with what I see in amateur golfers every day. The putting green becomes a place of anxiety rather than opportunity. Players start second-guessing their reads, their stroke, their equipment, everything except the one thing that matters most: committing to the process.
Lee's transformation began with a simple equipment change, but the real breakthrough was mental. She stopped listening to outside noise and started trusting her instincts. When she stepped over that crucial two-putt from 45 feet on the par-5 9th hole Sunday, converting it for birdie, you could see the confidence radiating from her posture.
Three Keys from Lee's Putting Renaissance
- Trust your equipment decisions completely. Lee's switch to the long putter wasn't just about mechanics, it was about finding something she could commit to fully. I've seen too many players constantly tinker with their putters, never giving any single method enough time to work. Lee's lesson is clear: make a change, then trust it completely. Half-hearted commitment to any putting method will fail.
- Develop distance control through feel, not mechanics. What impressed me most about Lee's putting at Fields Ranch East was her speed control on severely sloped greens. She wasn't overthinking her stroke mechanics—she was trusting her feel for distance. The best putters I've coached focus on rolling the ball at the right speed first, then worry about direction. Lee's two-putt from 45 feet on Sunday was pure distance control mastery.
- Use pressure as confirmation, not intimidation. Lee's putting was at its best when the stakes were highest. That back-to-back birdie sequence on holes 14 and 15 that essentially sealed her victory came from confident putting strokes under maximum pressure. She had identified those holes as birdie opportunities and trusted her putting to deliver when it mattered most.
The Lee Putting Challenge
Here's a drill inspired by Lee's transformation—I call it the "Confidence Builder," and it's designed to replicate the kind of pressure putting that wins major championships.
- Set up five balls at different distances around a practice green: 8 feet, 15 feet, 25 feet, 35 feet, and 45 feet. Your goal isn't to make every putt—it's to two-putt every single one while maintaining the same pre-putt routine.
- Start with the 8-footer if you make it, great. If you miss, you must still hole the comeback putt. Move to the 15-footer and repeat the process. The key is maintaining your routine and commitment level regardless of the previous result.
- The final challenge: complete the entire sequence three times without a three-putt. This builds the kind of distance control and mental toughness that Lee displayed throughout her victory at Fields Ranch East.
Whether you're chasing your first major championship or just trying to eliminate three-putts from your scorecard, Lee's lesson is the same: putting isn't about perfection—it's about confidence, commitment, and trusting your process when it matters most.
