Lee leads at 16th Texas Girls’ Invitational heading into the Final Round
Sulphur Springs, Texas – Michelle Lee of San Antonio will enter the final round of the 16th Texas Girls’ Invitational with a one-shot lead after carding a 4-under 68 in challenging conditions. The 2028 graduate delivered a strong performance, highlighted by seven birdies, to position herself atop the leaderboard.
Sunday proved to be a long, demanding day for the field. Play resumed at 10 a.m. to complete the suspended first round, which was halted due to darkness on Saturday. The second round followed with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start.
Lee didn’t let the cold weather or delayed start slow her down, surging to the lead heading into the final round.
“I played really well today,” Lee said. “I hit a lot of shots close and made a lot of important putts.”
Important is an understatement — Lee’s seven birdies came at crucial moments as she capitalized on key opportunities. Now, she holds a one-shot lead with just 18 holes remaining.
“I just need to play it safe tomorrow,” Lee added. “I think that can lead to a good round and help me.”
Trailing Lee by one stroke is Makenzie Minshew of The Woodlands. The 2027 graduate rebounded after bogeying her first two holes, making six birdies to post a 3-under 69. Minshew will look to ride that momentum into Monday in hopes of lifting the coveted Nez Muhleman Trophy.
In third place sits Addison Surber of Montgomery, who shot even-par 72 and trails by two shots heading into the final round.
Rounding out the top five are Riya Bapna of Coppell and Avery Zweig of McKinney. Bapna fired an even-par 72 to reach 1-under for the tournament, leaving her four shots back. Zweig, who posted a 2-over 74, remains in solo fifth and well within striking distance.
One of the standout performances of the day came from Alicia Bellendir of Coppell, who carded a 4-under 68 to climb into sixth place. Bellendir is chasing her first Legends Junior Tour major championship.
The Texas Girls’ Invitational has a history of producing future stars. Past champions include Texas Longhorns golfer Farrah O’Keefe (2022), currently ranked No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and professional golfer Hailey Jones, a two-time winner in 2016 and 2019. Other notable alumni include Tillie Claggett, the 2021 champion and current No. 122 in WAGR.
The second round played to an official yardage of 5843, with Hole 7 standing out as the toughest test. The downhill par 4, with its green sloping toward a lake, yielded an average score of 4.55.
Following the second round, the field was cut from 64 players to the low 30 and ties. The final round of the Texas Girls’ Invitational will begin Monday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m. with tee times off No. 1.
To learn more about the Texas Girls’ Invitational, click here. To visit Sulphur Springs Country Club homepage, click here. To view Round 2 results, click here.