Min Woo Lee returns to scene of PGA Tour victory
Min Woo Lee and his Houston Open trophy – file image Getty Images
Min Woo Lee returns to the scene of his first and only PGA Tour victory to date when he tees it up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open at the Memorial Park Course on Thursday.
Lee won the event by a shot last year, defeating Gary Woodland and Scottie Scheffler in a nailbiter to win the US$1.7 million of the US$12 million the 27-year-old has won to date in his still relatively young PGA Tour career.
Lee, who became the first golfer to win this event on debut in 16 years, is making his 7th start of the season, having recorded two top tens, and is currently in 8th position in the FedEx Cup standings.
Ahead of Thursday’s start, Lee spoke to the media as the defending champion.
“It was one of the best feelings in the world, to work hard and then hold that trophy at the end of the week. So hopefully I can do that this week and defend. But very excited for this week, playing very good golf. Had a nice week off last week. Yeah, it’s going to be a warm one, but I’m ready for it.
“Pebble was a very nice week,” said Lee, referring to his runner-up finish at Pebble Beach, one of two top tens this season (the other was when 6th at the Arnold Palmer event).
“It felt like I put four good rounds together. That’s all you have to do, you’ve got to put yourself in contention. I feel like I’ve been doing that, just getting a lot familiar with my game, putting well, and doing everything pretty solid.
“You’ve got to do that to win and put yourself in that spot. Yeah, it’s not rocket science, you’ve got to play very good. You feel like you can’t miss many shots over the course of the week to end up on top, and especially with great players like Scottie and Gary. Especially Scottie, he just doesn’t make a mistake. He rarely makes a mistake and just plots along and makes a lot of birdies. That’s what we’re all trying to do, and we’re getting there.
“It’s just something about this course I really enjoyed and really liked. I think I had a bit of an advantage, hitting it quite a long way. Again, just a great week to putt well. Yeah, it was just a great combination of those two things.
Someone who might well have been a thorn in his side this week, Scottie Scheffler, has withdrawn from the event, and when asked on that subject, Lee responded.
“Yeah, obviously Scottie not playing hurts that. I guess a few of us are saying, nice that he’s not playing. He’s a great player. And obviously, I’m not sure what the reason was, but yeah, again, it doesn’t matter if he plays or not, we again try to do the best we can.
“We’re trying to set up for major tournaments and big tournaments. He’s going to be there, so you can’t fear him or anything. Yeah, the field’s awesome. I mean, a lot of the guys, big hitters, I guess, come and play this event, so it’s fun. It’s one of those courses where it’s not penalizing, but it’s fun. Like, I think it was a good ending last year. Scottie up there, Rory up there, and I was just trying to keep in front. It was tough, it wasn’t easy. Winning’s definitely not easy. I was saying it a lot after the win; it was exhausting, but it was just an amazing feeling.
Lee will be joined in the field by fellow Australasians Jason Day, Adam Scott, Ryan Fox, and Karl Vilips.
