MEENA LEE

Birthdate: December 25, 1981

Birthplace: South Korea

Age: 26 Ht.: 5'6"

Home: Orlando, Fla.

College: Yong-In University

Turned Professional: 2002

Joined LPGA Tour: 2005

LPGA Victories: 2 - 2005 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open. 2006 Fields Open in Hawaii.

PLAYER NOTES

2007 Highlights

Recorded a season-best tie for eighth at both the Ginn Open and the Hana Bank KOLON Championship.

Carded a season-low 67 in the opening round of the CN Canadian Women’s Open.

2007 Stats (rank)

Rds under par: 30/84 (37) Rds in the 60s: 10/84 (66) Birdies: 222 (32)

Eagles: 0 (N/A) Greens in Reg: 60.6% (83) Driving Accuracy: 71.4% (21)

Sand Saves: 39.7% (71) Putts per GIR: 1.84 (63) Driving Avg: 242.0 (119)

2006 Highlights

Won her second LPGA event after a three-hole, sudden-death playoff with Seon Hwa Lee at the Fields Open in Hawaii, where she crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings and carded a career-low 65 during the final round.

Also carded a 65 in the opening round of the LPGA Corning Classic, but lost to Hee-Won Han in a four- hole, sudden-death playoff.

Recorded three additional top-10 finishes: the CN Canadian Women’s Open (4); Safeway Classic Presented by Pepsi (T7); and John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic Presented by SemGroup (T7).

2006 Stats (rank)

Rds under par: 39/90 (39) Rds in the 60s: 20/90 (29) Birdies: 278 (24)

Eagles: 5 (20) Greens in Reg: 67.4% (51) Driving Accuracy: 78.6% (12)

Sand Saves: 38.8% (68) Putts per GIR: 1.81 (46) Driving Avg: 244.1 (123)

In 2005, became one of 10 Rolex First-Time Winners with her win at the BMO Financial Group Canadian Women’s Open; recorded an additional five top-10 finishes; finished second in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race to Paula Creamer.

In 2004, played in 14 events on the Futures Tour and finished 23rd on the money list courtesy of three top-10 finishes; tied for 25th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status for the 2005 LPGA season.

In 2003, played in nine events on the Korea LPGA (KLPGA) Tour, winning one event and posting three other top-10 finishes to take fifth on the money list.

In 2002, turned professional in March; won three tournaments and had six other top-10 finishes on the KLPGA Tour, finishing as the leading money-winner and earning KLPGA Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors.

Mi Na Lee exploded onto the KLPGA tour in 2002. As a 20 year old rookie phenom she won several times, and ended up the top player on the money list and Player of the Year. She also got to play in two LPGA events: the Samsung, where she finished second to last (19th), and the Sports Today CJ Nine Bridges Classic, where she finished 41st.

Lee had a less successful 2003 campaign. She was leading the KLPGA early in the year, and qualified to play in the Samsung Championship on the LPGA as a result (though again she finished far down the field there). But later in the season, several players caught her, and she ended up finishing 4th on the KLPGA money list for the year. This meant that she did not qualify to play on the Pinx Cup team in 2003, nor was she named to it as an alternate, even when Gloria Park had to drop out.

Lee was also not able to qualify for the LPGA tour at Q-School in 2003. In 2004, she played the Futures Tour, where she finished 23rd on the money list. She then went to Q-School, where she earned an Exempt card for the 2005 LPGA season by finishing tied for 25th.

In 2005, Mi Na Lee changed her name to Mee Lee. Apparently she wasn't fond of that, for a few months into the 2005 season, she changed it again, this time to Meena Lee. She started her rookie season on a bad note, missing at one point 7 of 8 cuts. But she eventually found her speed, and nearly won the Corning Classic in May. She was tied for the lead on the final hole, but made double bogey. A few months later, she again came very close to winning, this time at the HSBC Women's World Match Play. She ended up losing in the finals to Marisa Baena on the final hole. Third time was the charm, though. When next she got into contention, at the BMO Financial Canadian Women's Open, she won, becoming the third first time winner among the Koreans in 2005.

Meena ended up finishing an astonishing 7th place on the money list. What's even more amazing is that she didn't come close to winning Rookie of the Year despite that finish. Still, that's a fantastic year for her, one of the top Rookie campaigns for a Korean ever.

In 2006, she wasn't as consistent as she was in 2005, but when she's been good, she's been great. In only her second event of the year, she blazed past Michelle Wie, caught rookie Seon Hwa Lee on the last hole, then beat her in a three hole playoff to capture her second career win. She looked like she would get her third win at the Corning Classic, but Hee-Won Han caught her on the final hole and beat her in a four hole playoff. Meena's biggest misfire was forgetting to send her application in for the US Women's Open; she thus was not able to play that important event. But she still finished in the top twenty on the money list for the second straight year (she finished 19th).

At the end of the year, Meena Lee played an integral part in the victory of South Korea at the Kyoraku Cup, and the Asian team win at the Lexus Cup. In fact, she was undefeated at the Kyoraku Cup and walked off with the MVP award.