Minjee Lee shot a 7-under 65 and Su Oh had a 66 in Australia’s record comeback victory Saturday in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Japan.
Seven strokes behind leader Canada entering the day, Australia took the lead through six holes and finished at 29-under 547 for a two-stroke victory.
Shelly Shin had a 74 for Australia, with only the top two scores each day counting in the team total.
“They never thought they were out of it, but they were close to possibly being out of it,” Australian captain Matt Cutler said.
“It was the fastest start you could ever see coming.”
Lee and Oh were 7-under on the first six holes to give Australia the lead. Lee had an eagle and two birdies during the run, and Oh had three birdies.
“I wanted to make this something to remember,” said 18-year-old Lee, No. 1 in the world amateur rankings.
“I wanted this to be a priceless experience for everyone.”
The team’s 72-hole total of 547 was a stroke off South Korea’s 2010 record and the final-round 131 was the second-best in tournament history.
The top teams finished on Karuizawa 72 Golf East’s Iriyama Course. Lee shot a 64 on Friday on the Oshitate Course to give Australia a chance to win the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time.
The seven-shot comeback broke the tournament record of three set by Australia in 2002 in Malaysia. Australia also won the biennial event in 1978.
“We talked last night that if you broke it down as an individual and you were three or four strokes down through 54 holes, you could give yourself a chance,” Cutler said.
“We were seven down, so that’s how we approached it.”
Canada was second at 27 under, with 16-year-old Brooke Henderson winning the individual title at 19-under 269. Lee was second, three strokes back.
“Australia had a great round today. I was really impressed,” Henderson said.
“They have very skilled players, including two in the top 10 in the world rankings, which is unbelievable. It’s a little disappointing to finish second, but overall we had a really great week and played really well as a team.”
