Alison Lee’s clubs are stuck in Amsterdam for at least another day. The Solheim Cup player, who gave birth to son Levi last year, is using rentals this week at the PIF Saudi Ladies International.
Lee told Golfweek that she’s using the driver and fairway metals from a rental set. The irons and wedges are borrowed from the general manager at Riyadh Golf Club. Lee bought the broomstick putter she’s using in the pro shop, but it’s 4 inches longer than the one she usually plays.
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Lee, 30, birdied the last three holes in Wednesday’s first round to card a 2-under 70. She trails leaders Mimi Rhodes and Hye-Jin Choi by six. Lee, who won at Riyadh in 2023 at an Aramco Team Series event, said she typically plays a mixed bag of Callaway and Titleist clubs.
The two-time Solheim Cup player returned to competitive golf four months after giving birth to Levi via emergency C-section on April 25, 2025. When the six-week waiting period was over, she started to chip and putt. She waited two months before starting to hit driver.
“There were a lot of days where I would be hitting range balls and just crying, like the whole time I’m on the range,” Lee said last year at the NW Arkansas Championship. “You have so many different emotions. You have mom guilt, you question yourself when you have a bad day of practice. What am I doing here? I could be spending time with my son.
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“And then there are moments where I want to do this so bad.”
Lee, who was pregnant during last year’s Solheim Cup, said she pushed herself to come back early last season because she doesn’t see herself competing too much longer. Now in her 12th year on tour, she didn’t want to fall behind too quickly knowing her seasons are numbered.
The Saudi Ladies International is the LET’s season-opening event and carries a purse of $5 million, the highest in women’s golf outside the majors and the LPGA season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. The four-round event ends on Saturday and includes a 36-hole cut.
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This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA mom Alison Lee contending in Saudi event using rental golf clubs
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