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Australian golf’s super siblings are poised to add even more silverware to their bulging family trophy cabinet as Min Woo Lee seized control of the Australian PGA while Adam Scott’s challenge faltered.
In the same week that LPGA star Minjee Lee won her third Greg Norman Medal as Australia’s best golfer last season, her fun-loving younger brother Min Woo is on the cusp of his biggest win to date.
Heading into Sunday’s final round of the Australian PGA championship, Lee holds a commanding three-stroke lead over the field after another majestic display at Royal Queensland.
Showing no signs of crumbling under pressure, Lee fired a five-under-par 66 to reach 17-under with one day to go.
“I expected myself to play pretty well,” Lee said.
“I’ve been hitting the ball so well all year and the results have been there.
“But iIt’s just another day and hopefully I can keep going but I can just control what I can do..”
Golf is a fickle game and the final round of every tournament is as much a test of nerves as ability, so nothing is ever assured.
But if the 25-year-old can maintain his composure – and all the signs are that he will continue to play without fear – then he could soon find his name engraved on the Joe Kirkwood Cup alongside some of the most legendary names in Australian golf.
“It’s of course where you can shoot low so you’re going to be aggressive no matter what,” Lee said.
“There’s probably a couple of holes where you don’t need to hit driver where I did the last three days.
“So it just all depends. It’s obviously score dependent, but I’m here because I played aggressive and played the way the game plan has been so hopefully I can just do the same.”
It’s still early days for Lee, but he might be on his way to being an all-time great too.
He’s got the genes – his sister has won two majors – and he’s a loveable character that the galleries have fallen head over heels for.
After shooting a 64 in Thursday’s opening round, he celebrated by going out to see US rapper Post Malone’s Brisbane concert that night.
He was under the doona early on Friday but the result was the same when he returned to the course on Saturday.
He started the third round leading Scott by a single stroke but finished six in front as the Masters champion tumbled down the leaderboard to end the day fourth at 11-under.
Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino charged up the leaderboard with six birdies in the last eight holes for a 64 to be outright second at 14-under while Curtis Luck carded a 66 to be third at 13-under.
Like his sister, Lee won the U.S. junior title as an amateur, and has made a smooth transition to the professional ranks.
He won the Vic Open in 2020, then the Scottish Open to get himself to the majors, finishing 14th at the Masters in 2002 and fifth at this year’s U.S. Open.
He won his third professional title in Macau last month but said winning the Australian PGA, which is co-sanctioned by the DP European Tour, would be his finest achievement.
“It was in the back of my mind and I wanted to win so it’ll be amazing. Any win’s awesome,” Lee said.
“I have the potential to win, but I only have three wins, so it’s not like it’s (guaranteed) to come off so any time you win it’s an amazing feeling.
Scott was still within a shot of Lee after the 10th hole but things fell apart quickly after that.
He said he hasn’t quite given up all hope of winning but conceded he needed to shoot a really low score and hope for luck.
“It wasn’t really my day, I couldn’t really get it going. Unfortunately I missed a putt on 12 and then bogeyed 14 and 16 and had a bit of a rough run,” Scott said.
“The momentum really changed and Min had a couple of birdies and we went from being quite close to being a long way back now so I’ve got a lot of work to do.but maybe all the putts will go.
“I felt like I was playing pretty well but I just didn’t get anything to go in, I couldn’t get any momentum going then I hit a couple of drives to the right that were not bad but ended up in pretty ordinary spots but that’s the way it goes.”
EARLIER DAY 3 COVERAGE
SCOTT MAKES HIS MOVE
Adam Scott is making his charge at the Australian PGA.
Already a two-time winner of the tournament, Scott remains in prime position to get his name engraved on the trophy for a third time.
With six holes to play in the round at Royal Queensland, Scott is at 13-under-par, trailing overnight leader Min Woo Lee by two strokes.
Lee had led by as much as three after an early birdie blitz before Scott closed the gap with back to back birdies on the ninth and 10th holes.
Curtis Luck joined Scott at 12-under after covering the first 12 holes in four-under while Scotland’s Conor Syme is the clubhouse leader 10-under a bogey-free 64.
“It was a good day,” Syme said
“I didn’t feel that great this morning. I felt good mentally but I just didn’t feel my swing was quite there on the range, so I tried to manage my golf ball a little better.
“It was a little bit easier today in terms of the breeze. It was pretty windy yesterday afternoon.”
LEE OFF TO PERFECT START
Min Woo Lee has stretched his lead at the Australian PGA to two shots after making the perfect start to his third round at Royal Queensland.
Starting the day at 12-under, one stroke clear of his playing partner Adam Scott, Lee birdied the par-four opening hole to move to 13-under.
Scott remained at 11-under after taking par and was briefly joined in second place by John Lyras — who is playing in the same grouping — after he made birdie.
Lyras gave the shot back when he bogeyed the second hole.
Lucas Herbert also picked up a shot on the first hole to move to outright fourth at four-under under overcast conditions in Brisbane.
An early morning downpour has softened the course, pacing the way for low scores.
Inspirational New Zealand golfer Michael Hendry climbed 17 places when he reeled off seven birdies in a seven-under 64 to get to seven under for the tournament.
Diagnosed with leukaemia earlier this year, Hendry was forced to withdraw from the British Open to undergo bone marrow treatment but is in remission and back playing.
“The good thing is now they’ve managed to get the medication right when they’ve given me a bone marrow biopsy now,” Hendry said.
“It’s painful even though I’m medicated but the day after there’s no pain, but the day after there’s no pain so that’s a real bonus because the first few really hurt for a few days.”
Scotland’s Conor Syme made an even better start to his round, making six birdies in his first nine holes to get to the turn in just 30 shots at nine-under.
HENDRY, GARCIA-HEREDIA MAKE EARLY MOVES
New Zealand’s Michael Hendry and Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia have made the most of the calm early morning conditions at the Australian PGA to shoot up the leaderboard as the top guns prepare to tee off.
Hendry and Garcia-Heredia have both shot five-under par so far this morning with just a few holes to play, moving up to just outside the top 10 at five-under.
The pair have been faultless all morning, raising hopes leaders Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott should be ready to unleash more low scoring at Royal Queensland when they tee off at 11.05am (AEST).
SCOTT V LEE: WHY AUS PGA IS STILL BOX OFFICE WITHOUT SMITH
The premature exit of Cam Smith withstanding, the Australian PGA is set for a heavyweight showdown for the ages with Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee paired together for today’s third round at Royal Queensland.
Smith was in tears after his game fell to pieces during Friday’s second round and he missed the cut by nine shots but his absence has set the stage for an epic clash between the past and present of Australian golf.
Scott, 43, will be the clear crowd favourite because he’s a beloved member at Royal Queensland but Lee, 25, is one of the rising stars of the game and has plenty of followers of his own.
“I think we’re excited to play some good golf in front of them and hopefully we can get some roars in the crowd,” Lee said.
“I hope it’s not split like that (heavily in Scott’s favour).
“I think I’ve got tremendous support over the last two days and last year, so hopefully it’s going to be like that.”
Lee, fresh from winning the Macau Open, leads the tournament at the halfway stage at 12-under, with Scott one stroke behind at 11-under.
John Lyras is third at 10-under and will join them in the final grouping.
Lucas Herbert, Curtis Luck and Spanish first round leader Joel Moscatel are all at eight-under so will play in the penultimate group.
Almost two decades older than Lee, Scott said he has no qualms about playing alongside his younger opponent but expects whoever wins will have to attack and shoot a low score.
“I really don’t care who I play with. I’m playing in the final group and I’m happy about that,” Scott said.
“Someone is going to get close to 20-under, so I’m just keeping pace with that kind of mark.
“You never know, it could get really windy and we’re not going that deep, but this is kind of the place that was identified earlier in the week, so I’m really happy with – I call it par – but that’s very good.”
A total of 80 players made the cut, more than usual, prompting organisers to play the final round in groups of three.
Smith was visibly devastated at missing out but Lee, who played in his group on the first two days, tipped him to rebound quickly.
“That’s golf. That happens. Next week I’m sure he’s going to bounce back,” Lee said.
“It’s just what good players do. That’s the good thing about golf, you have one bad
week and the next week you can win. I’m sure he’s going to have a good time hanging
out with his family and friends in his hometown. He’ll have a few drinks and loosen up
for next week.
“Obviously you want to play well in front of the crowd, but that’s golf. He made bogey on the last hole but the supporters were screaming, “We still love you,” and stuff like that. Australia’s behind Aussie golfers.
“It’s good enough for him to come back and play in front of Australia. He didn’t need to, but good on him.”
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