Min Woo Lee portrayed blistering golfing skills at the Macau Golf and Country Club where he defeated Poom Saksansin by a margin of two strokes to win his first Asian Tour title, the 2023 Macau Open.
He was born on July 27, 1998, in Perth, Western Australia to a South Korean couple named Soonam and Clara Lee. His parents migrated to Australia in the early 1990s. He also has an elder sister named Minjee Lee who plays on the LPGA Tour. She is a nine-time title winner on the Tour and has also recorded two major victories.
The Australian golfer registered his first amateur victory at the 2013 Drummond Junior. He defended his title in the next two editions in 2014 and 2015. He registered two more wins in 2015 - the Western Australia Amateur and Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship.
In 2016, Min Woo Lee won the US Junior Amateur to become the first-ever sibling duo, alongside his sister Minjee Lee, to win the USGA's junior championships. His sister was victorious at the 2012 US Girls' Junior.
Later on, Lee defended his Western Australia Amateur title in 2017. His last amateur career victory came in 2018, winning the South Australia Amateur Classic.
Min Woo Lee is also very famous on social media. He has over 300 thousand followers on Instagram and over 200 thousand followers on TikTok. He is often called the "first golf cult hero".
How has Min Woo Lee performed as a professional golfer?
The Australian golfer decided to turn professional after a successful amateur career in 2019. He participated in multiple DP World Tour and the PGA of Australasia events. Playing in the Saudi International, he registered a solid solo fourth finish in the tournament. Later in the same month, he recorded a fifth-place finish at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth.
His first year as a professional golfer did not earn him his first professional title. But the next year, he won the ISPS Handa Vic Open 2020 after defeating Ryan Fox by two strokes. This was a DP World Tour and PGA of Australasia co-sanctioned event.
In 2021, Min Woo Lee defeated Thomas Detry and Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff match to win the abrdn Scottish Open. The win also earned him an invite to the 2021 Open Championship where he missed the cut.
Despite constant efforts, Lee was void of another win until 2023. He defeated Poom Saksansin by two strokes to win the 2023 Macau Open. With this win, he registered three victories in three different continents.
The 2023 season has been quite successful for the Australian golfer. Min Woo Lee also registered his best major finish at the US Open where he ended up tied for fifth on the leaderboard.