By Peter Ryan
Justin Bieber congratulates Min Woo Lee on his breakthrough PGA Tour win.
It’s not every day you get congratulated by Justin Bieber. But then, it’s not every day you get your breakthrough win on the PGA Tour.
That’s what happened to Australia’s Min Woo Lee on Monday (AEDT) when he survived a nerve-wracking final round to win the Houston Open by one stroke.
Pop icon Bieber made sure his 294 million followers on Instagram were aware of Lee’s win when he posted to his account, congratulating the 26-year-old from Perth.
That such recognition was of little surprise is an indication of the crossover appeal Lee, who carries the nickname “the Chef” and has fans chanting the phase “let him cook” when he plays, now carries.
Lee is part of a new generation of sportspeople connecting with fans using a mix of humour and pure sporting entertainment. His profile in America is high – his social media game is considered at the vanguard of his generation.
Lee posts well-produced videos with clever captions – that he writes himself – to his 711,000 Instagram followers; he often calls on the doctor – “Dr Chipinski” – when he shares his shots from off the green going in the hole. At the 2023 Australian PGA, which Lee won, fans wore let him cook T-shirts and chef’s hats as they followed him around the course.
He is not just a social media novelty, however with his modest post on social media platform X after the win showing him grinning as he held the winner’s trophy aloft. The caption read: “This one hits different”.
He now heads toward his third US Masters in a fortnight’s time in ripping form.
He is determined, professional and hard-working, renowned for his big hitting and deft touch around greens.
His cool demeanour in the final two holes of the Houston Open, when world No.1 Scottie Scheffler and major winner Gary Woodland drew within a stroke, hid his jagged emotions.
“I was freaking out inside,” Lee said after the win. “It was tough. Props to the guys who win week-in, week-out. It is very hard.”
Lee had to make par on the final hole to hold off Scheffler – who shot four consecutive birdies on the back nine – and Woodland. The pair drew within one shot of forcing a play-off when they shot eight and seven under respectively on the final day to whittle away Lee’s lead to the narrowest margin.
It took a brilliant putt from just off the green by Lee, who is coached by Ritchie Smith, to seal the title as he put the ball within centimetres of the 18th hole for a tap-in par to make a final round 67 and finish 20 under for the tournament. He even had the poise to crack a gag on the tap in. He had been less relaxed when he made a bogey at 16 after going into the water.
“I always felt like I had the assets to win. It was always: ‘can you do it mentally?’” Lee said. “That’s why Sundays are so tough. You know people are creeping, and you know people are attacking. Now I know that’s what it takes.”
The 26-year-old brother of LPGA tour major winner Minjee Lee was raised in Perth and has been threatening to win on the tour but his victory in Houston against Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will push him into superstar status ahead of the US Masters.
It was the putter he turned to when the pressure was fierce on the 18th hole in Houston, a tournament he was originally planning to miss. “I would have chipped that nine out of 10 times ... it was a really good lie, but it was hard to judge the pace,” Lee said. “[It was] just the reliable choice.”
Lee started the day with a four-shot lead and entered the back nine with a three-shot final-round buffer as some of golf’s biggest names hunted the Australian down.
However, disaster struck at the par-five 16th, when Lee hit his drive into the water and played his third shot from the tee. He made bogey after leaving his 40-foot par putt just short of the hole.
Scheffler cut Lee’s lead to only one with his own birdie on 16.
Lee must have felt the pressure of carrying his first 54-hole lead, but it didn’t show early as he drained a series of clutch putts to keep his chasers at bay.
After letting share of the halfway lead slip at this month’s prestigious Players Championship, Lee was hoping to claim his first PGA Tour win after two runner-up finishes plus three victories on the European Tour, including the 2023 Australian PGA Championship.
The richly talented 26-year-old’s inevitable nerves would have settled somewhat when his final-round playing partner and then closest chaser Alejandro Tosti dropped a shot at the opening hole to fall five behind.
But Lee’s experienced Irish caddy Bo Martin had to talk the Lee out of dicing with fire and attempting an audacious shot off his knees on the par-five eighth hole.
Struggling with his driver all round, the West Australian was fortunate to stay in bounds but still found his ball under a tree.
After a lengthy deliberation, he wisely opted to take a two-club-length penalty drop and eventually saved par after a painstaking 33-minute drama.
The ordeal prompted Tosti to complain to official officials, the Argentine frustrated about the amount of time for Lee took to decide on his second shot.
Tosti’s anguish would have been compounded when Lee struck his wedge shot from 87 yards to six feet and holed the putt, then stiffed his approach on the par-three ninth to set up a priceless birdie to edge three shots clear.
Lee is the 38th Australian to win a PGA Tour tournament and the second this year after his friend Karl Vilips won the Puerto Rico Open. The win also elevated him to 16th on the player standings.
with AAP