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In 2011, she had more success, winning the
Canadian Women's Amateur Championship, which earned her a
spot in the Canadian Women's Open again. She did not make
the cut that year, either.
But in the fall, she decided to turn pro,
leaving the University of Texas, where she had played for
one year. She entered LPGA Qualifying School and, remarkably,
finished tied for 9th to earn full status for the tour in
2012.
Rebecca did not have a great rookie year on
the LPGA tour, so she returned to Q-School in the fall. She
finished first there to earn another full exemption for 2013.
2013 proved to be a pretty good year for Rebecca,
the best in her career so far. Her best event by far was the
year's final Major, where she finished tied for 11th, her
career best finish. She also shot a 65, her career low round,
at the CME Group Titleholders. She wound up 80th on the money
list with over $100K earned.
She had a slightly worse season in 2014. She
had one top 20, a T-12th at the Marathon Classic, but missed
a bunch of cuts and made only about $52,000 for the season.
She finished 110th on the money list.
Rebecca only finished 153rd on the LPGA money
list in 2015, with her best result a tie for 52nd. She lost
her tour card and returned to the Symetra Tour in 2016.
In August, 2016, Rebecca officially retired
from professional golf. Injuries, a deteriorating relationship
with her father, who was also her coach, and burnout were
the reasons. She became a golf teacher after that.
But that was not the end of the story! After
a few years, Lee-Bentham began to miss competitive golf. In
the spring of 2019, she began to compete again, immediately
having good results. She won the DCM PGA Women's Championship
in Canada, and also contended at the mixed-gender Bermuda
Grey Goose Par 3 Championship (she finished tenth). She was
not able to earn a card at Q-School in the Fall; she'll play
on the Symetra Tour in 2020 for the first time in four years.
Most impressively, Lee-Bentham played in a
men's golf event on a Canadian tour in Montreal in September.
Despite a huge length disadvantage, she missed the cut by
just a single shot and managed a 69 in one round on a 7000+
yard course
Rebecca did play at the Canadian Women's Open
in 2021 and 2022 with weak results, but there are no recorded
events after that and she might have retired.
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