Min Woo Lee one behind leading trio at Scottish Open
Min Woo Lee – file photo courtesy of PGA of Australia
Former champion Min Woo Lee is just one behind a three-way tie for the lead at the Genesis Scottish Open, consecutive rounds of 66 having the 27-year-old at 8 under par and trailing only Rory McIlroy, Jordan Smith and Tom Kim as the event heads into the weekend at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
Lee’s round was heading in the wrong direction before a stunning second to the par-5 12th finished 12 feet from the hole, and when he converted for eagle, it began a finishing stretch of 5 under for his last seven holes and swept him within one of the halfway lead.
“It was probably one of the best shots I’ve hit in a while, 2-iron off the deck and hit it to maybe 14, 15 feet and holed the putt,” said Lee when relating the shot that sparked his late charge. “So, yeah, definitely helps.
“Yeah, played really well. I mean, I looked at the scores, and the scores didn’t look like they were running away. So I knew it was somewhat tough. So it was nice to see that.
“And, yeah, just went well on the back nine, put myself in good positions and holed some putts.”
Lee’s recent form has not been particularly good, missing two of his last three cuts, but he summed up his improved showing. “Just being kind to myself. I feel like I’ve been beating myself up on the course. And all these little things that — you know, that don’t go your way, felt like they got to me very easily. And in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a big deal. So just realizing that and just trying to play golf and be happy.”
It was at this venue where Lee won this event in 2021. “Yeah, I mean, it always helps to come to a play you’ve done well in. Scotland is one of my favorite places, and seeing my name and face on some billboards is quite nice. But it definitely helps. You know you’ve done it around here, and you can — you have a bit of a memory of what you did down the stretch and played some good golf.”
McIlroy, the winner of the event at this venue in 2023, made a fast start to his second round and made the turn in 31, and although he cooled off a little on the way home in more demanding conditions, he looks the obvious danger to those around him.
“I thought I played well again. You know, the wind definitely got up for us in the afternoon,” said McIlroy. We got off to a really nice start, then sort of by the turn, the wind had got to its strongest and it felt like it was hard to get the ball close to the pins and we were all making a lot of pars out there.
“It would have been nice to be a couple better. But you know, it’s obviously another good day and in good position.”
Joint leader Tom Kim has enjoyed a good record at the Renaissance Club also having finished 3rd and 6th in his first two appearances and top 20 finishes in the other two.
Kim’s game appears to be on the way back to the sort of form that has seen him win three times on the PGA Tour, a 3rd place finish at Shinnecock Hills a couple of weeks ago, clear evidence of that.
The next best of the Australasians after Lee is US-based West Australian Karl Vilips, whose bogey-free second round of 64 saw the 24-year-old move to a share of 13th place. Vilips only learned of his start in the event on Monday and made the rushed trip to Scotland, and after missing the cut in the event last year things have improved sharply.
“This year I’m doing my best to avoid the pot bunkers,” said Vilips. “That’s where I got undone last year in this tournament. So, laying up short, if that means having a couple extra clubs in, I’m totally fine with that. And then I think I found some form last week at John Deere but just didn’t put it together. So I felt pretty good heading into this week, and I was actually in Kentucky.
“So getting the call on Monday, felt great to come here. It was all kind of a rush. Didn’t have time to think about much. Did really well with the sleep recovery, everything, and coming over here. But yeah, no expectations is sometimes nice, and I felt like I was obviously trending coming into the week. So I just wanted to go out there and see what I could do.”
Cameron Davis and Ryan Fox are tied for 25th, Davis finally finding some form after what has been a horror year thus far in 2026, missing 8 of 11 cuts while Fox produced a second round of 65 to move within five of the lead.
Adam Scott was the only other Australasian to make the cut when he finished on the number at 2 over.
