Minjee Lee captures the 2022 Aon Risk Reward Challenge—and $1 million prize!

It’s been a storybook season on the LPGA Tour for Minjee Lee.

The 26-year-old from Perth, Australia added two titles to her collection, the U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica and Cognizant Founders Cup, plus four other top-10 finishes. The two-time major winner also earned the Rolex Annika Major award, which is given annually to the LPGA Tour player with the best cumulative finish in the five majors. She wasn’t done yet. Lee, the fifth-ranked player in the world, most recently captured the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, the season-long competition spotlighting the best decision makers on Tour. Lee joined Scottie Scheffler from the PGA TOUR, taking home the Aon trophy and $1 million prize.

Winning the Aon Risk Reward Challenge required grit, strategic preparation, savvy decision making and impressive execution.

Lee led the race to $1 million for much of the summer and fall. But, Atthaya Thitikul, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, and Xiyu Lin, the 19th-ranked golfer, gained ground late in the season, which set up the climactic three-way duel at the season’s final two regular-season tournaments.

A quick refresher: One hole per Tour event is earmarked for the Challenge. The players’ two best scores on the hole count toward the year-long competition. The player with the lowest cumulative score under par throughout the season captures the winner-take-all prize.

Aon, a leading global professional services firm, created the Aon Risk Reward Challenge alongside the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour in 2019, and, each year, the company awards the equal $1 million prize money to the winner across both Tours.

The penultimate tournament on the LPGA Tour, the TOTO Japan Classic, was held at Seta Golf Course. The Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, No. 13, is a 476-yard par-5. Two bunkers hug the right side of the fairway while a half-dozen others protect the front of the green. After the tee shot, players and their caddies must make a decision to go for the green in two or lay up: hitting the green in two means a putt for eagle but missing the green could result in a tricky long-bunker shot. On the other hand, laying up to a specific yardage might be the better choice, with the possibility of sticking a short-iron approach close for a realistic birdie opportunity. Navigating complexity, and making better decisions, is exactly what Aon helps clients’ do every day.

In Round 1, Lee recorded an uncharacteristic bogey on No. 13 while Thitikul, the 19-year old phenom from…