Minjee Lee has become the first woman to win Greg Norman Medal as the best Australian golfer on the international stage after a brilliant year that saw her break into the top 10 of the world rankings.

The Perth-born Australian, 22, rose to number six in the world in 2018. She is the third recipient of the most prestigious individual honor for Australian golfers. Previously, the award was entitled to males – Jason Day in 2015, 2016 and Marc Leishman in 2017, respectively.

"I'm humbled to have won such a prestigious award alongside two amazing golfers already in Marc and Jason," said Lee.

"I've had a great 2018 season, and this is a really nice way to be acknowledged for that... Hopefully, I can have a bigger and better one next year."

Lee's excellence this year included her victory at the LPGA Volvik Championship in May in Michigan. She finished the year ranked second on both the money list and scoring average of 69.747, after Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand in both categories.

Lee became professional in September 2014, after ranking number one as an amateur golfer in February 2014 during the Oates Victorian Open in her country.

The Greg Norman Medal, named after famous Australian golfer Greg Norman, is awarded annually to the country's best professional golfer since 2015.

Norman, 66, used to be the number one golfer for a record-long history as he kept his first status in the world rankings for as long as 331 weeks between the 1980s and 1990s. Besides his winning history of 91 international tournaments, Norman was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 with the 80 percent of votes, the highest ever.

The golf guru also established a competition called QBE Shootout in 1989, as the latest version will be held in Florida, U.S., between December 7-9, marking the 30th anniversary of the team golf event.

(With inputs from Reuters)