Lee ends Webb's reign as top Australian woman

[June 30, 2015]  SYDNEY, June 30 (Reuters) - Australia had a new number one women's golfer for the first time in around two decades on Tuesday after Minjee Lee leapfrogged Karrie Webb in the latest world rankings to end the seven-times major champion's long reign at the top.

Teenager Lee, who won her first LPGA Tour event at the Kingsmill Championship in May, jumped from 17th to 16th in the rankings after finishing tied for sixth at the Arkansas Championship over the weekend.

Webb finished tied for 52nd in Rogers, Arkansas, to drop from 16th to 18th and give up her status as the leading Australian, which she had held since the women's rankings were first instituted in 2006.

Had the rankings existed, the 40-year-old Webb would have undoubtedly have been the leading Australian for at least two decades since she burst onto the scene with victory at the women's British Open in 1995.

Lee, 19, was the number one ranked amateur in the world last year before turning professional and qualifying for the LPGA tour. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by ...)

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