Latest news with #MackenzieLee
USA Today
29-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Mackenzie Lee joins notable SMU alums to win at Pinehurst No. 2 after North & South Amateur victory
Mackenzie Lee took the lead on the third hole and never looked back. The rising senior at SMU won the 123rd Women's North & South Amateur on Saturday at Pinehurst No. 2, topping Jazy Roberts 2 and 1 to win the title. Lee, who was the 19th seed after two rounds of stroke play, had a dominant showing in match play to win the Putter Boy trophy. 'I felt like I had control of the match throughout the whole day,' Lee said, 'but I was struggling to make putts the whole round. And when that one went in, it was just really satisfying. I was like, 'OK, I'm back. I'm here. I'm right here. I'm not done yet.'" The championship match featured a rain delay, but Lee took firm control of the match when she poured in a sliding birdie putt on the 13th, going 2 up. She was 3 up with three to play and closed the match with a par on the 17th hole. Lee finished her junior season as a Golfweek honorable mention All-America selection for the Mustangs. And now, she's the latest Mustang to have success at Pinehurst No. 2. 'A lot of the shortcomings or disappointments I've had in the last four or five years, it all kind of shifted in my eyes today,' Lee said. 'So many moments that I deeply embedded in my heart, that I took personally. I saw them all. It just really kind of healed me today. A lot of painful moments where I thought I could win and I didn't, they were all kind of hitting together. I feel like someone put a nice aloe vera on my sunburn. 'As an SMU Mustang, this has a really, really special meaning to me. Mr. Payne Stewart. Bryson DeChambeau. They've had crazy achievements here, and while mine is not as grand as theirs, it's still pretty big for me.'
USA Today
02-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
This college player recorded her second ace in the span of five days at ANWA
This college player recorded her second ace in the span of five days at ANWA EVANS, Ga. — Mackenzie Lee told her caddie on the fifth hole after a birdie at the Augusta National Women's Amateur that her only goal for the day was to finish under par. She then stepped up to the next tee and promptly recorded an ace, though she didn't actually see it. "One of the caddies was like, I think that's in, "said SMU's Lee. "I'm like no. I'm like no way. I literally just had one last week, like you're lying to me." Lee, 21, actually aced her first hole of the day in Round 2 of the Clemson Invitational on March 29. She started out the round on the seventh hole in the shotgun start and, after a 20-minute ride, knocked it in from 160 yards. Wednesday's ace in the opening round of the ANWA was her second in the span of five days, her fourth in competition and seventh overall. Lee shot 4-under 68 to kick off her first ANWA and trails Stanford's Megha Ganne by five shots. The Little Rock, Arkansas, product has five top-six finishes this season at SMU, including a trio of third-place finishes at the Chevron Collegiate, Briars Creek Invitational and Charles Schwab Women's Spring Invitational in 2025. She's been trying to get into this field since she watched Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi duel at the inaugural event in 2019, calling it iconic. The outgoing Lee said she's feeding off the elevated atmosphere this week. "The crowds, the cameras, like for me, it's very exciting," said Lee, beaming. "I was thriving in it. I'm like, yes, cameras!"
NBC Sports
02-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Mackenzie Lee's ace at Champions Retreat her second in five days
EVANS, Ga. – Mackenzie Lee did what she always does when she hits a good shot. 'Automatic tee pickup,' said the SMU junior, who then watched as her tee ball on Champions Retreat's sixth hole landed on the green and disappeared into the hole, about 135 yards away. Originally, she thought it had rolled down a slope or something, but another caddie quickly broke the exciting news. 'I'm like, no way,' said Lee, who opened the Augusta National Women's Amateur in 4-under 68 on Wednesday. 'I literally just had one last week, like you're lying to me.' Lee now has seven career holes-in-one, four of those coming in tournaments, including last week's Clemson Invitational. Lee started her second round last Saturday on the 160-yard, par-3 seventh hole at Lake Keowee's Reserve Course. With her first swing of the day, Lee jarred it. 'I was telling myself I need another warm-up because it was shotgun and we were on No. 7, like all the way out there, like a 20-minute drive in the golf carts,' Lee said. 'I was like, OK, let's just try to get this on the green because [the pin is] in the front and there's water in front of that. Yeah, it went in, and I was like, that was insane. 'But this one, you can't really see the hole, and I was like I don't know if it's in, we shall see. Like no one saw it, but yeah, it was in.' Lee's ace, the second in tournament history (Bohyun Park, 2023, Champions Retreat's eighth hole), was part of a strong close for the ANWA first-timer. After playing her first 10 holes in 2 over, Lee birdied Nos. 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 as part of her second-nine, 5-under 31.
