Min Woo Lee (born 27 July 1998) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He won the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open, the 2021 Abrdn Scottish Open and the 2023 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship on the European Tour. He also won the 2023 SJM Macao Open on the Asian Tour.
| Min Woo Lee | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | Woozy, The Chef[1] |
| Born | (1998-07-27) 27 July 1998 (age 25) Perth, Western Australia |
| Sporting nationality |  Australia |
| Residence | Perth, Western Australia |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2019 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour PGA Tour of Australasia |
| Professional wins | 4 |
| Highest ranking | 31 (3 March 2024)[2] (as of 14 July 2024) |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 3 |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 2 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T14: 2022 |
| PGA Championship | T18: 2023 |
| U.S. Open | T5: 2023 |
| The Open Championship | T21: 2022 |
Lee turned professional at the start of 2019.[3] He played a number of events on the European Tour and had early success, finishing 4th in the Saudi International and tied for 5th in the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, both events played in February. These were, however, his only top-10 finishes of the season and he finished 117th in the Order of Merit. In October he was tied for 6th in the Genesis Championship on the Korean Tour. At the end of the year he was solo 3rd in the AVJennings NSW Open and then tied for 3rd in the Australian PGA Championship, an early season event on the 2020 European Tour.
In February 2020 he won the ISPS Handa Vic Open, an event co-sanctioned with by the European Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia.
In July 2021, Lee defeated Thomas Detry and Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff at the Abrdn Scottish Open.[4] With this win, he earned entry into the 2021 Open Championship.[5]
In May 2023, Lee earned special temporary membership on the PGA Tour.[6]
In October 2023, Lee won the SJM Macao Open on the Asian Tour. He shot a tournament record of 254 (30-under-par) and won wire-to-wire by two shots ahead of Poom Saksansin.[7] One month later, Lee won the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.[8]
Lee's parents, Soonam and Clara Lee, were both from South Korea, and emigrated to Australia in the early 1990s. Lee's older sister, Minjee Lee, is also a professional golfer. When Min Woo Lee won the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, they became the first brother/sister pair to win the USGA's junior championships, Minjee Lee having won the U.S. Girls' Junior in 2012.[9]
Lee has a large social media presence, with over 200,000 followers on Instagram and 100,000 on TikTok.[10] His presence has led to him being described as possibly the "first golf cult hero" by Golf Magazine.[11]
Source:[12]
| Legend |
|---|
| Rolex Series (1) |
| Other European Tour (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Feb 2020 | ISPS Handa Vic Open1 | −19 (66-67-68-68=269) | 2 strokes |  Ryan Fox
|
| 2 | 11 Jul 2021 | Abrdn Scottish Open | −18 (68-69-65-64=266) | Playoff |  Thomas Detry,  Matt Fitzpatrick
|
| 3 | 26 Nov 2023 (2024 season) |
Fortinet Australian PGA Championship1 | −20 (64-66-66-68=264) | 3 strokes |  Rikuya Hoshino
|
1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | Abrdn Scottish Open | Thomas Detry, Matt Fitzpatrick
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Oct 2023 | SJM Macao Open | −30 (62-64-65-63=254) | 2 strokes |  Poom Saksansin
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Feb 2020 | ISPS Handa Vic Open1 | −19 (66-67-68-68=269) | 2 strokes | Ryan Fox
|
| 2 | 26 Nov 2023 | Fortinet Australian PGA Championship1 | −20 (64-66-66-68=264) | 3 strokes | Rikuya Hoshino
|
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T14 | CUT | T22 | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T18 | T26 | |
| U.S. Open | T27 | T5 | T21 | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T21 | T41 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 9 |
| Tournament | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T6 | T54 |
"T" indicates a tie for a place
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T28 | ||
| Match Play | T26 | T31 | |
| Invitational | 62 | ||
| Champions | NT1 | NT1 | |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.
Amateur