- 2014-15 first-team All-Pac-12
- 2014-15 second-team WGCA All-America
- 2014-15 third-team Golfweek All-America
- 2014-15 team's MVP Award
- 2014-15 CU Female Co-Athlete of the Year
- 2015 Sportswomen of Colorado Collegiate Golf Award
- 2015-16 Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
- 2015-16 first-team All-Pac-12
- 2015-16 second-team WGCA All-America
- 2015-16 third-team Golfweek All-America
- 2015-16 team's MVP Award
- 2015-16 CU Female Co-Athlete of the Year
- 2016-17 Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention
- 2016-17 Pac-12 Golfer of the Month (September)
- 2016-17 honorable mention All-Pac-12
- 2016-17 team's MVP Award
- 2016-17 CU's Career Athletic Achievement Award
Career — Esther Lee solidified herself as one of Colorado’s top golfers in program history. Lee owns 25 total records after graduation. Her career records include stroke average (73.03), lowest scrip (1.13), rounds in the 60s (11), most victories (3). Her performance at the Branch Law/Dick McGuire Invitational in the fall of 2016 was a performance that will go down in history. Lee finished with a 61-68-69—198 final scorecard adding many records to her name including, lowest 54-hole score, lowest 36-hole score as well as lowest 18 and 9-hole score. She also tied the NCAA record for lowest round score with her 61 on the first day. The four-time All-American (both WGCA and Golfweek), earned CU female athlete of the year twice and was an All-Pac-12 team member all three years. She earned Pac-12 player of the month once and finished both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 season as a top-25 golfers in the country.
2016-17 (Sr.)—Lee capped off her record-breaking career with another season that will forever be a part of the CU history books. Her stroke average of 73.64 is the program best mark on the books for stroke average for a senior. She had one win, and four top-10 finishes with three rounds in the 60s in 25 rounds. Lee’s biggest accomplishment was adding her name to the NCAA record books as she shot a 61 at the first round of the New Mexico Branch Law/Dick McGuire Invitational to tie an NCAA record. In that tournament Lee put together an incredible scorecard of 61-69-68—198 to break multiple program records and win medalist honors. She had six subpar rounds and four more rounds at even par while 22 of her 25 rounds counted toward team scoring. Lee went on to push the Buffs to their best conference finish in school history as CU finished second.
2015-16 (Jr.)—Lee continued her dominance in record breaking fashion as a junior, finishing the year as the 25th-ranked golfer in the nation. She led the Buffaloes during their 2015-16 campaign with a school-record 72.53 stroke average, becoming only the second Buff in school history to post a sub-73.00 stroke average in one season. She also earned a team-best 11 top 20 finishes, which is tied for first all-time in a single season. Lee won her second career event at the East & West Match Play Challenge during the fall in Madison, Wisc., where Los Alamitos, Calif. native shot a school-record 64 in the second round of stroke play. In 30 rounds played, all of which counted toward team scoring, Lee registered a team-high three rounds in the 60s and tallied 27 rounds in the 70s, second-most on the squad. In addition, Lee led the team with eight subpar rounds, played five at even-par, and made four eagles, a personal-best 89 birdies and 348 pars. Lee became the first two-time All-American in program history after being named to the WGCA All-American Second Team for a second consecutive year. She was also named a Golfweek Third Team All-American for a second time in her career along with becoming the first Buff to be selected to the All-Pac-12 Team, twice. In addition, Lee earned Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention and was named the CU Female Co-Athlete of the Year for a second straight time.
2014-15 (So.)—In Lee’s first year competing for the black and gold, she put together one of the best seasons in CU history, finishing her 2014-15 campaign with a team-best 73.03 stroke average. She recorded 10 top 20 finishes, which is tied for second most all-time in a single season and also notched a school record 72.25 spring stroke average. Lee won her first collegiate tournament, earning medalist honors at the Bay Area Intercollegiate in the spring where she shot a school-record 206 in the 54-hole event. All-together, Lee tallied five rounds in the 60s between the fall and spring, the most by any golfer in a single-season. She led the team with three top five finishes, eight subpar rounds, was second on the team with four even-par rounds and third on the squad, recording 26 rounds in the 70s. Lee finished as the No. 22/23 (GolfStat/Golfweek) ranked individual in the country and was awarded several accolades for her impressive season, including being the first Buff ever to be named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, earned a place on the WGCA All-American Second Team and Golfweek All-American Third Team along with earning CU Female Athlete of the Year honors and CU Athlete of the Week, twice.
2013-14 (Fr. at Duke)—In her first collegiate tournament, Lee turned in a top 20 finish as she tied for 16th with rounds of 79, 71 and 24 for a 224 at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C. Lee competed in three tournaments during her freshman season. Her best finish came in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate when she finished in 12th place at six-over par, helping the Blue Devils win the meet.
High School—Lee, a graduate of Los Alamitos High School in Alamitos, Calif. was listed third on the Junior Golf Scoreboard, fourth in the Golfweek Junior rankings and No. 10 in the Polo Junior Golf rankings when she completed high school. In 2012, she was named to the First Team Rolex Junior All-America and played on the Junior Ryder Cup team. She recorded seven top 10 finishes in seven events on the AJGA tour in 2012 with one of her best finishes that year coming at the Polo Golf Junior Classic when she earned co-medalist honors. In 2011, Lee tallied six top 10 finishes and one victory and competed in the Junior Solheim Cup for the U.S. in Trim, Ireland, where she posted a 1-1-1 record and helped her team win the tournament. Lee finished in the top 10 on five different occasions and claimed one win in 2010. As a senior, she was named the Orange County Player of the Year and The Press Telegram Player of the Year as a junior. Over her four-year high school golf career, Lee posted 26 total wins and as a sophomore, her high school team placed second at the state championship.
Academics—Lee is a communication major.
Personal—Esther JH Lee was born October 18, 1994 in Pueblo, Colo. and is the daughter of Seung Soo and Eun Ha Lee. She grew up in Los Alamitos, Calif. and attended Los Alamitos High School. Lee has one brother, John, who is a student at West Point in N.Y. She was a member of the Principal’s Honor Roll each of her first three years of high school and was involved in the Red Cross Club, Helping Kids be Kids Club and the Wounded Veterans.
Career Tournaments
| Date |
Event (Par) |
Score |
Finish |
| Sept. 8-9, 2014 |
Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic (72) |
72-72-72—216 |
6th |
| Sept. 20-21, 2014 |
Minnesota Invite (72) |
75-76-71—222 |
t-8th |
| Oct. 7-8, 2014 |
Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite (72) |
74-74—148 |
t-14th |
| Nov. 3-4, 2014 |
Pac-12 Fall Preview (73) |
79-75-79—233 |
t-41st |
| Feb. 14-15, 2015 |
Peg Barnard Invite (71) |
73-69—142 |
t-6th |
| Mar. 2-3, 2015 |
Bruin Wave Invite (72) |
73-79-71—223 |
t-5th |
| Mar. 9-10, 2015 |
Bay Area Intercollegiate (71) |
67-67-72—206 |
t-1st |
| Mar. 27-29, 2015 |
LSU Tiger Golf Classic (72) |
76-71-74—221 |
t-10th |
| Apr. 13-14, 2015 |
SILVERADO SHOWDOWN (72) |
67-74-74—215 |
t-2nd |
| Apr. 20-22, 2015 |
Pac-12 Championships (71) |
76-68-71—215 |
12th |
| May 7-9, 2015 |
NCAA West Regional (71) |
76-75-72—223 |
t-13th |
| Date |
Event (Par) |
Score |
Finish |
| Sept. 14-15, 2015 |
Minnesota Invite (72) |
71-70-75—216 |
4th |
| Sept. 20-22, 2015 |
East & West Match Play (72) |
73-64—137 |
1st |
| Oct. 6-7, 2015 |
Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite (72) |
71-75-78—224 |
t-9th |
| Nov. 2-3, 2015 |
Pac-12 Fall Preview (73) |
75-74-73—222 |
t-12th |
| Feb. 13-14, 2016 |
Peg Barnard Invite (71) |
71-74—145 |
t-11th |
| Mar. 7-8, 2016 |
Bay Area Intercollegiate (72) |
74-72—146 |
t-8th |
| Mar. 14-15, 2016 |
Arizona Wildcat Invite (72) |
73-77-70—220 |
t-18th |
| Apr. 3-5, 2016 |
SILVERADO SHOWDOWN (72) |
73-72-68—213 |
3rd |
| Apr. 8-10, 2016 |
Ping/ASU Invite (72) |
69-76-73—218 |
t-9th |
| Apr. 18-20, 2016 |
Pac-12 Championships (72) |
70-73-73—216 |
t-18th |
| May 5-7, 2016 |
NCAA West Regional (71) |
72-76-71—219 |
t-18th |
| Date |
Event (Par) |
Score |
Finish |
| Sept. 12-13, 2016 |
Dick McGuire Invite (72) |
61-69-68—198 |
1st |
| Oct. 14-15, 2016 |
Stanford Intercollegiate (71) |
76-71—147 |
t-18th |
| Oct. 24-25, 2016 |
Pac-12 Fall Preview (73) |
78-82-73—233 |
t-41st |
| Feb. 11-12, 2017 |
Peg Barnard Invite (71) |
72-72—144 |
t-5th |
| Feb. 27-28, 2017 |
Bruin Wave Invite (73) |
75-78-76—229 |
14th |
| Mar. 27-29, 2017 |
Anuevue Spring Break Classic (72) |
71-73-73—217 |
9th |
| Apr. 9-11, 2017 |
SILVERADO SHOWDOWN (72) |
71-73-75—219 |
t-26th |
| Apr. 24-26, 2017 |
Pac-12 Championships (72) |
76-71-74—221 |
t-9th |
| May 8-10, 2017 |
NCAA Columbus Regional (72) |
81-75-77—233 |
t-51st |
Career Statistics
| Overall |
Spring |
Fall |
| Season |
Rd |
Strk |
Avg |
Lo |
Rd |
Strk |
Avg |
Rd |
Strk |
Avg |
| 2014-15 |
31 |
2,264 |
73.03 |
67 |
20 |
1,445 |
72.25 |
11 |
819 |
74.45 |
| 2015-16 |
30 |
2,176 |
72.53 |
64 |
19 |
1,377 |
72.47 |
11 |
799 |
72.63 |
| 2016-17 |
25 |
1,841 |
73.64 |
61 |
17 |
1,263 |
74.30 |
8 |
578 |
72.25 |
| Totals |
86 |
6,281 |
73.03 |
61 |
56 |
4,085 |
72.95 |
30 |
2,196 |
73.20 |
Wins: (3), 2014-15 (1), 2015-16 (1), 2016-17 (1)
Top-5 Finishes: (7), 2014-15 (3), 2015-16 (3), 2016-17 (1)
Top-10 Finishes: (17), 2014-15 (7), 2015-16 (6), 2016-17 (4)
Subpar Rounds: (22), 2014-15 (8), 2015-16 (8), 2016-17 (6)
