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Min Woo Lee Is Cooking: Australian Superstar Captures Second Win in Six Weeks

The 25-year-old who lives by the motto 'Let him cook' is carrying some serious momentum into 2024.

Gabrielle Herzig

Min Woo Lee Is Cooking: Australian Superstar Captures Second Win in Six Weeks
Min Woo Lee Is Cooking: Australian Superstar Captures Second Win in Six Weeks /

He holed out for eagle from 55 yards and started a thunderclap on the 71st hole. Then he won by three shots on home soil at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, capturing his second victory in less than two months. On Monday, he rose to 38th in the world rankings—a career high. 

Min Woo Lee is cooking. 

Call it a meme, a motto, a catchphrase—whatever it is, “Let him cook” is Min Woo Lee’s. The three-word saying first caught fire at this year's Players Championship, where Lee burst onto the American golf scene with a T6 finish. Now it defines Lee’s social media brand and ignites his Gen-Z fanbase. 

All one had to do was look around Royal Queensland Golf Club, where the fairways were sprinkled with fans wearing chef hats. Lee even threw one on himself as he engaged in some crowd work on the 17th hole on Sunday, clearly not worried about closing out his fourth professional victory.  

Although it came one hole early, Lee’s interactive celebration was certainly well deserved. With rounds of 64-66-66-68, Lee beat Rikuya Hoshino by three to secure the title on home territory even after he saw a three-shot lead evaporate within the first 30 minutes of the final round. But three birdies and a holeout eagle on the 9th got Lee right back on track, propelling him to victory.  

“That was probably the best atmosphere shot I’ve ever hit,” Lee said after the round. “I want to see it straight away.” 

Typically lauded for his 190 mph ball speed off the tee, Lee is also a weapon around the greens. 

The win solidified what many in the golf world already knew: Lee possesses some serious momentum heading into 2024. Just six weeks ago Lee won his third career event at the Asian Tour’s SJM Macao Open, where he shot a final round 63 to win by two.

And after gaining enough non-member points throughout the FedEx Cup Fall, Lee also officially earned his PGA Tour card for the new year. In addition to his two wins overseas, a T5 at the U.S. Open and a recent T6 at the Zozo Championship are indicators of what’s to come. 

Lee’s win at the Macao Open was his first since the 2021 Scottish Open. His maiden victory came more than a year prior to that at the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open on the DP World Tour.

“I always thought I could win. But it took a while to get over the hump,” Lee said. “Two wins in the last month or so. I’m really proud of my team and myself.”

Lee will have a chance to light up the Australian crowd once again this week as he tees it up in the ISPS Handa Australian Open. Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman headline the field, which is stacked with hometown favorites. 

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Gabrielle Herzig
GABRIELLE HERZIG

Gabrielle Herzig is a Breaking and Trending News writer for Sports Illustrated Golf. Previously, she worked as a Golf Digest Contributing Editor, an NBC Sports Digital Editorial Intern, and a Production Runner for FOX Sports at the site of the 2018 U.S. Open. Gabrielle graduated as a Politics Major from Pomona College in Claremont, California, where she was a four-year member and senior-year captain of the Pomona-Pitzer women’s golf team. In her junior year, Gabrielle studied abroad in Scotland for three months, where she explored the Home of Golf by joining the Edinburgh University Golf Club.

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