West Australians often pit themselves against a perceived east coast bias and rising golf star Min Woo Lee carries himself no differently – except for one key difference.
Lee doesn’t want to just prove himself to Australia, but the world.
After dethroning Queensland golden boy Cameron Smith in his own backyard at the Australian PGA last weekend, Lee now has his sights set on winning the Australian Open which starts on Thursday.
The son of South Korean immigrants is in career-best form, rising to world No. 38 this week following a stellar season that has earned him a spot on the prestigious PGA Tour in 2024.
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That prized card came after years grinding away in Europe and Lee is showing no signs of slowing down, with Australia’s No. 3 intent on leapfrogging Smith or Jason Day in the rankings to earn selection for the 2024 Olympics.
Lee isn’t lacking any confidence and has made himself a social media sensation – boasting 650,000 followers across his platforms – while crowds around the world yell at the Aussie “let him cook”.
Lee ramped up his catchcry in Brisbane when he donned a chef’s hat on the 17th green to celebrate with fans, despite having a hole left to play in the tournament he won by three strokes at 20-under.
‘Let him cook’ loosely translates to: let this kid do his thing.
In many ways, the 25-year-old has been looking for ways to ‘do his thing’ and stand out his entire life, perennially chasing world No. 5 older sister Minjee.
Lee presents as the carefree larrikin in stark contrast to his no-nonsense sister, but make no mistake, the man they call ‘Woozy’ is a competitive beast striving to prove his doubters wrong.
The flamboyant character will likely only ever consider that feat truly accomplished if he overtakes his sister as the best golfer in the family, and to do that Lee will need to become the best golfer in the world.
Foxsports.com.au asked Lee if he was familiar with the famous Ashes sledge Mark Waugh copped from James Ormond who told him “at least I’m the best player in my own family”.
“I get reminded of that every couple of weeks, but that keeps me humble,” Lee said.
“She’s been playing really good and normally when I win she wins the week after so she’ll probably win this week.
“Yeah, I get a little pissed off when she wins the week after because I got the light on me for a little bit then a week later she’s holding a trophy. But we’re happy for each other, so it’s not that bad of a sibling rivalry.
“I’m trying to do my best and obviously my sister is one of the best golfers in the world and I’m trying to be as good as she has been and I’m excited for what the future holds.
“There’s a bit of rivalry there, (winning regularly) is normal for her and I’m trying to get to that stage.”
Lee admits the rivalry is likely one-sided, like with most older siblings, and Minjee confirms his suspicion to foxsports.com.au.
“Yeah, I don’t (care about it). People like it so I get it but I’m just his big sister, I don’t see him as my competitor,” she said.
“I want him to do well every single week and I’m really proud of how much he’s grown his game and matured his as a human as well.
“It’s really cool to see his personality on TV and social media, it’s what he was born to do, really different to me but he is an entertainer.
“He’s definitely taken much more responsibility for how he manages his time and what’s good for him and learning more about what is best for him.
“That comes with experience and he’s been gaining a lot of experience playing on different tours and I think it’s really helped him grow. Now he’s on the PGA Tour and that’s going to really help him become the golfer he wants to be.
“He’s getting there. He’s much more mature than he used to be but he’s still annoying at times.”
Lee surpassing his sister’s career-high ranking of world No. 2 would place them in the most rarefied air of Australian spotting siblings, right up there with the McKeons and Kerrs.
But he doesn’t miss a beat when asked if he has what it takes to become the best golfer in the world.
“Yeah, for sure,” Lee said assuredly.
“I don’t know when that will be but top 50 was one of my goals a few years back and that was somewhat hard to believe and from the outside there were (questions) ‘could he do it’ – and I’m close to top 30 now.
“I’m really excited with where my game is at and I’d love to be the best player in the world, but a lot of hard work and results have to come with that.”
If he gets to the mountaintop, it’ll be a journey built on sheer determination from the skinny kid from Perth that nobody expected to get out of his sister’s shadow.
It’s why Lee, who weighs 70 kgs ringing wet, smiles from ear to ear when asked if he prides himself on being one of the longest hitters in the world.
“A lot of people who haven’t seen me hit the ball don’t think I could hit it that long because I’m a scrawny kid, but I go out there and smack the ball,” he said.
“I’ve had that ability from such a young age. I played with older kids when I was 12 or 13 and I always had the natural ability to keep up with them.
“So yeah, it’s pretty cool to still be one of the longest (at this level).”
Behind the confidence that borders on cockiness, there’s a genuine humbleness to Lee who stopped short of accepting his mantle of the new face of golf in Australia.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the face of golf in Australia but I’m slowly going towards there,” he said.
“I’m trying to play good golf and have a big social media presence and try to inspire little kids and whoever wants to play golf.
“I mean it’s pretty cool and surreal to have that said about me, it didn’t feel like that moment was going to come this quick but (I’ve) risen really quickly over the last year or two and I’m really happy with it.
“I’ve got to stay humble because I am just a kid from Perth and playing with Curtis Luck, another Perth boy, in the final group (last week) was incredible.
EPIC EAGLE from Min Woo Lee | 01:04
“I don’t normally say this to anyone but I was on the golf course and I said ‘I miss playing with you Curtis’. It was really a full circle moment because we played so many junior tournaments together and then over the last four or five years we didn’t get to play at all so it was cool to play in the final group at the Aussie PGA together.”
Lee is determined to join his sister as an Olympian next year, with Minjee already representing Australia at the 2016 and 2020 Games.
To do so he’ll need to continue his surge up the rankings and overtake Day (21) or Smith (20) by June 17 next year.
“Olympics (qualifying) is the top two in the world rankings and right now I’m coming third behind Cam and Jason,” he said.
“There’s a lot of chat and vibe around it, which is cool because I was never really in the conversation until the last couple of months.”
Cam Smith’s Olympics spot in doubt | 01:21
The cash-stacked LIV Tour never came knocking for Lee but he was one of just 20 players invited by Tiger Woods to join the new TGL virtual golf league.
The tournament – which has been pushed to 2025 – won’t feature any LIV players and will be contested in a multimillion-dollar, hi-tech stadium that’s currently being built.
“My goal was to play on the PGA Tour and now that I’m there it’s looking even better that I didn’t end up talking to (LIV). I love where I am now and I’m really excited about next year,” Lee said.
“I don’t know if it was Tiger that picked the (TGL) players but it was really cool. I love team sports and I love playing in that team format.”
It’s the exact new-age concept that has Lee’s name written all over it, and he’ll be sure to splash it all over his socials which have – refreshingly – so far proved a force for good in his life.
Min Woo Lee wins Aus PGA Championship | 03:30
Several Australian sports stars have been subject to racism on social media since its inception, but Lee said his experience has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The support has been unreal, social media has been nice and I feel like I’ve got a pretty nice fan base,” he said.
“There’s a couple of heckles now and then on social media, but not out in person. I think golf is a really good sport in that you’ve got to learn from a young age to play with different people. So I think there’s a lot of respect for our game, it’s one of the only games where you have to keep quiet.
“We’re trying to grow and make it a loud sport and stuff like that, but respectfulness in our sport I think has been very good.”
