“I hate golf…. Actually I love golf”: Min Woo Lee reacts to his own birdie at the Cazoo Open

Golf is the sport where literally anything can happen, and Min Woo Lee was proof of that on Thursday. During the first round of the Cazoo Open de France, the Australian was involved in a seemingly impossible play that resulted in a brilliant finish.

It was such an incredible result that the DP World Tour made a post on their social media to review it. Min Woo Lee himself responded to the post, sharing it with the sentence:

"I hate golf.... Actually I love golf."

The play took place on the 14th hole (595 yards, par 5). Min Woo Lee went for a long drive, but was so unlucky that his shot went wide left. The ball landed in a native area with knee-high grass.

Min Woo Lee managed to locate where his ball had landed and began the brilliant recovery of an unlucky shot. With a wedge stroke, he managed to get the ball back on the fairway, 128 yards from the hole.

Next, Min Woo Lee looked for the green with an iron shot that was so well-executed that the ball was just over 26 feet from the hole. It was not an easy putt, but the Australian executed it to perfection and made the birdie that seemed impossible on his first shot.

Min Woo Lee in the Cazoo Open de France

The birdie on the 14th hole was the highlight for Min Woo Lee in the first round of the Cazoo Open de France. It was a good but not exceptional day for the Australian.

Lee carded five birdies and three bogeys on Thursday for a 2-under 69. That left him in a share of 36th place, tied with six other players. He is currently five shots behind leader Tom Kim.

Lee is ranked 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking and fifth in the European Race To Dubai Ranking. He has played 13 events on the DP World Tour this season (excluding the Open de France), five of which are co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour. His best result was a tie for second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

At this level, Lee has won two tournaments, the 2021 Scottish Open and the 2020 ISPS Handa Vic Open. He also has two runner-up finishes and 14 other top 10s in 79 tournaments (55 cuts). The 2023 Open de France will be his first experience.

This Friday, Lee will tee off at 4:20 a.m. Eastern Time as part of group number 16. He will tee off on hole 10, accompanied by France's Victor Perez and Scotland's Robert Macintyre.

Lee also played on the PGA Tour this season. He played 13 tournaments, made nine cuts and finished with three top 10s. This includes a T5 at the U.S. Open, one of his most-important performances of the year.