Min Woo Lee is poised for his first PGA Tour win.

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Aussie Min Woo Lee springboarded himself proper into the thick of it on the Gamers Championship after holing his second shot on the first gap Saturday.

The eagle received the two-time DP World Tour winner to eight beneath and one off the lead after only one gap.

5 hours later and after a 66, Lee is 2 photographs off the lead of Scottie Scheffler at 12 beneath, however the one purser inside three photographs of the World No. 2. That’s regardless of almost lacking the sphere for the Gamers two weeks in the past.

Lee may not have probably the most identify recognition, so listed here are 5 issues to know concerning the 24-year-old.

You most likely know his sister

Min Woo is the youthful brother of reigning U.S. Ladies’s champion Minjee Lee.

Their mom, Clara, can be a golf skilled, which makes good sense when you think about how profitable each youngsters are, each rating within the prime 50 of their respective world rankings (Minjee is No. 5 whereas Min Woo is No. 50).

Minjee has gained eight occasions on the LPGA Tour, together with two majors.

She additionally gained the 2012 U.S. Woman’s Junior Beginner. When Min Woo gained the 2016 U.S. Boy’s Junior Beginner, the pair grew to become the primary siblings ever to each win a junior am title.

When Min Woo performed the Masters for the primary time final yr, Minjee caddied for her little brother within the Par 3 contest.

He’s been profitable on the DP World Tour

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Whereas Lee is trying to find his first PGA Tour win this week, he has discovered the winner’s circle twice on the DP World Tour. He was victorious on the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open in his house nation of Australia.

He additionally prevailed in a playoff in opposition to Thomas Detry and Matt Fitzpatrick on the 2021 Abdrn Scottish Open, the yr earlier than the occasion began being co-sanctioned by each the DP World and PGA Excursions.

He’s performed in 4 DP World Tour occasions this season and hasn’t completed outdoors the highest 13, together with a runner-up end on the Abhu Dhabi HSBC Championship. These finishes have him third within the tour’s Race to Dubai standings.

Energy is not any difficulty

The typical ball pace on the PGA Tour this season is just below 173 mph. Lee hit 172 mph on the twelfth gap Saturday with an iron!

He has clocked 190 mph or quicker ball pace 13 occasions this week and leads the sphere in driving distance on all tee photographs. His 124.64 common clubhead pace in his two occasions on the PGA Tour this season would rank third for the season if he certified.

Whereas distance just isn’t an important trait at TPC Sawgrass, Lee, who checks in at simply 6-foot, 165 lbs, shouldn’t have any difficulty in maintaining with Scheffler off the tee Sunday.

He simply barely made the sphere this week

Lee isn’t a member of the PGA Tour, however he made his first Tour begin of the season final month on the Honda Traditional and put collectively a stable remaining spherical of 66 to complete T26.

Whereas Lee entered the week at No. 47 on the planet, the end ended up bumping him down to precisely No. 50, the place he nonetheless is that this week.

Had Lee shot 67 on Sunday and completed T28, he wouldn’t have earned sufficient factors to remain forward of Lucas Herbert and would have fallen to No. 51. The cutoff for the highest 50 within the Official World Rankings to qualify for the Gamers was after the Honda and he would have had no different approach into the sphere.

“It’s one of many greatest common season occasions, and it’s clearly thought-about the fifth main, and it might have been guttering to return 51st within the rating and never get in,” Lee stated Saturday. “I feel it ended up being one-eighth of a shot with the rating factors. Issues did favor in my approach, and you bought to benefit from it.”

A stable end can be key for his profession

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Whereas Lee isn’t a PGA Tour member but, a solo fourth or higher Sunday would earn him Particular Momentary Membership for the rest of the season.

To earn Particular Momentary standing, a participant should earn the equal variety of non-member FedEx Cup factors as final season’s One hundred and fiftieth-place finisher within the standings. Particular Momentary members are capable of play on limitless sponsor exemptions. In the event that they safe sufficient FedEx Cup factors to position inside the highest 125 on the finish of the season, they earn membership for the next season.

Akshay Bhatia earned the standing final week on the Puerto Rico Open and Tom Kim did it final season earlier than securing his standing along with his win on the Wyndham Championship.

In fact, Lee would like to win, securing a five-year membership to the PGA Tour and exemptions into all 4 majors for the following three years.

“I clearly performed the majors final yr and performed rather well in them,” Lee stated. “I positively really feel like I had the potential to be up there. Clearly, guys are enjoying actually good and have such good stretches. However, yeah, I used to be simply hoping for per week like this and to play actually good golf and never too many errors.”

Jack Hirsh
Patacon.org Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is 2020 graduate of Penn State College, incomes levels in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his highschool golf workforce and nonetheless *tries* to stay aggressive in native amateurs. Earlier than becoming a member of GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but in addition producing, anchoring and even presenting the climate. He could be reached at [email protected]