Min Woo Lee kept PGA party quiet ahead of Australian Open

A six-figure cheque and a major Australian win demanded a big party, but PGA winner Min Woo Lee has more goals to achieve.

Winning the PGA last weekend was worth celebrating but “not enough for a hangover” for superstar Min Woo Lee, who is plotting back-to-back triumphs at the Australian Open.

The 25-year-old declared he went “pretty hard” in celebrating his previous win in the Macau Open in October and said it impacted his performance in the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in Japan the following week.

He still finished sixth in a star-studded tournament won by world No.14 Collin Morikawa, even carrying the effects of his celebrations.

So given a clearer head in Sydney this week, the new world No.38 is well placed to deliver a first Australian Open for the Lee family, with sister Minjee gunning for the women’s crown.

“There was nothing too serious,“ Min Woo said when asked about his celebrations.

“Again, work to do this week. After my win in Macau (last month) I went pretty hard after that win and had Zozo the week after, so I thought I didn’t get the best preparation for that week.

Sorry, what was that? I’m too busy winning pic.twitter.com/HSN7ROVmid

— Min Woo Lee (@Minwoo27Lee) November 27, 2023

“So I’m learning from those experiences. I just had I’ll say medium – not quiet, not massive, just right in the middle.

“Good enough to celebrate but not enough for a hangover, so I’m ready for this week.”

Lee has been preparing for the big-time since he was a teenager and that includes a massive Saturday at The Australian, which will host the final two rounds of the Australian Open, as a 17-year-old.

It was in 2016 when Lee played alongside major champion Jordan Spieth, who went on to win.

“I was 17 years old, so it was unreal,” he said. “I played with him on the Saturday, obviously when school was done and all the kids got out and the fairways were filled with so many people.

“I didn’t end up playing that good, but it was definitely an experience I can look back on and kind of got caught up in all of it, and as a 17-year-old, you don’t have that big of a crowd, so I really loved that moment and now that I get to play with Jordan, it’s pretty cool, week in, week out.”

Lee knows the layouts this week, with the dual-gender Opens to be played across both The Australian and The Lakes, will be a tougher test than that posed by Royal Queensland.

But he said the tougher the course, the better he played.

“I know The Australian golf course is tough, which is probably better for me,” he said.

“I like pretty tough courses, or if it’s easy, it’s nice and easy and I’m playing good golf. So, both of them can help. I’m hitting the ball really well now.”