Lee fell tantalisingly short of becoming Australia's first female golfer to capture the World No.1 ranking following a tie for fourth at the AIG British Open in Scotland.

The Perth ace needed to win or finish second, but wound up three shots behind triumphant South African Ashleigh Buhai, who denied In Gee Chun in an epic, tension-filled sudden-death play-off that stretched four holes and ended under fading light on Sunday.

While Lee remains World No.2 and fell short in her quest to land a second major of the year, the U.S. Women’s Open champion clinched another coveted accolade and further narrowed the gap on the top-ranked Jin Young Ko, who missed the cut.

The 26-year-old secured the Rolex Annika Major Award as the season's best-performing player at the five annual major championships.

As well as her victory at Pine Needles and joint-fourth on Sunday, Lee was co-runner-up at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, 12th at the Chevron Championship and 43rd in the defence of her 2021 Evian Championship win in France.

RIGHT: For a second straight year, Steph Kyriacou impressed at the AIG Women's Open. PHOTO: David Cannon/Getty Images.

"I've had some really great finishes at the majors," she said.

"I feel like I'm trending in the right direction and pretty excited for the rest of the season."

Lee's fellow Australian Steph Kyriacou closed with a 71 to tie for seventh at five-under in an impressive encore to her tie for 12th last year at Carnoustie.

Kyriacou was three-under for her round through five holes before three bogeys scuppered her chances as the 21-year-old Sydney talent somewhat ruefully settled for her best finish at a major.

"I played pretty solid the whole week. Today was a bit yucky. I hit maybe three bad shots that cost me more than three shots. But yeah, still lots of positives to take," Kyriacou said.

"Still a couple things to work on but, yeah, everything for me is trending, which I can't be too mad about that. I can't really let that define my whole week so I definitely have confidence in myself. It might sound a bit arrogant but I think I'm going to win majors. It's just a matter of time I feel."

After starting the weekend as the leading Australian and right in contention, Hannah Green shared 35th spot at two-over following a disappointing 75 finish.