Min Woo Lee claims breakthrough US PGA tour win at Houston Open
He’s nicknamed “The Chef” and he found the right ingredients at the perfect time — Min Woo Lee held off world No.1 Scottie Scheffler in a tense finish to claim a stunning Houston Open win.
Until a few days ago, there were doubts Australia’s Min Woo Lee would ever cash in on his sublime ability.
A social media megastar dubbed by his fans as “The Chef” and “Dr Chipinski”, Lee, 26, had a cult-like following, but nothing to show in the PGA Tour wins column.
The burden of expectation — and chatter about his capacity to grind — was real.
But that all changed at this week’s Houston Open where the son of South Korean immigrants and brother of LPGA star Minjee Lee finally put it all together to register his maiden victory on the US tour.
In tandem with new Irish caddie Brian “Bo” Martin, who recently split with Open winner Shane Lowry, “The Chef” has found the right ingredients at the perfect time — two weeks out from the Masters at Augusta National.
With defending Masters champion and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler stalking him on the leaderboard over the tense final nine holes, Lee held his nerve to secure the first win of his PGA tour career.
It was far from smooth sailing. Lee led by three shots with three to play at 21-under, then disaster struck.
Lee found the water off the tee on the par five 16th, and had to play his third shot back from the tee box.
Meanwhile in the group ahead Scheffler birdied the 16th, his fourth birdie in a row, to move to 19-under and suddenly what looked to be a comfortable run to victory turned into the toughest examination of Lee’s title credentials.
Lee eventually tapped in for bogey on the 16th — his first bogey in 41 holes — and the margin was just one shot.
The world No.1 had a 21 foot putt for birdie on the 17th, but strangely left it short as he missed the golden opportunity to pile more pressure on the Aussie who was starting to play conservatively.
With both men walking off the 17th with a par, it left Scheffler needing a strong finish to snatch victory.
But Scheffler missed the green with his approach shot on 18 and while he chipped to within a foot of the hole, a par left the Australian needing just a par of his own to win the tournament.
Lee’s drive on 18 landed left of the fairway, an almost deliberate tactic to avoid the trouble down the right side that could have brought him seriously undone.
The 26-year-old also missed the green with his approach shot, needing an up and down to win his first PGA tournament of his career.
Lee then cautiously pulled the putter out for his third from off the green but delivered the putt of his life, drilling the ball to within inches of the hole.
“To this point in his career it was likely the most important putt he has ever hit in his life,” said the commentators.
Lee tapped in for par and secured his first win after 56 tour starts at 20-under.
“To get it done and to hit the shots that I didn’t trust a month ago is unbelievable,” Lee said.
“It was a big mental grind and I’m very proud.
“Obviously Scottie was right there, it was nerve wracking.
“I’ve been trying to hit it high for a few years now and just to get it trustworthy down the stretch, I don’t know, it’s a very proud momeny for my team, my coach Richie and myself.
“You lean on your caddie a lot. We knew we could win one day soon, I’ve been playing a lot of good golf the last couple of months but to get it done, we knew we could get it done.
“It is exhausting and it is tough. These guys who win out here a lot, hats off to the, but I want to do it more.
“Let him cook.”
Lee has always had the talent but not the consistency to finish the job across four rounds against the world’s best.
Twice he’s been in contention at the Players Championship and there was a tie for fifth in the US Open two years ago.
“I have learnt from past experiences not to get too ahead of myself,” Lee said after Saturday’s third round that gave him a four-shot lead going into Sunday in an indication of his new mindset.
He survived those heart palpitations on 16 and found a way to hold off a fast-finishing Scheffler and former US Open champion Gary Woodland by a single stroke.
His emotional reaction - and the love from the Houston patrons - after a long putt at the 18th ensured a par and a breakthrough win gave a glimpse of what could come next.
Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley last year declared the young gun Australian as “the most exciting young player in the game”.
“I think he’s got everything,” McGinley declared at last year’s Masters.
“He hits the ball a million miles and he’s got a lot of charisma, too.
“I think he’s simply sensational - the hottest prospect that we have in golf.
“It’s just a matter of time. There’s no doubt he’s going to win a major championship.”
A year on, Lee is suddenly in the frame to do what Adam Scott did a dozen years ago - pull on a green jacket for Australia.
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