It would be no surprise to see the Texas Children’s Houston Open prove to be a turning point in the career of Min Woo Lee.
Min Woo Lee has been considered one of the top talents on the PGA Tour for some time. The Australian boasts a fanbase like few others on the tour, while he clearly had the ability to steal the show inside the ropes.
But getting across the line had previously been an issue. That was until the Texas Children’s Houston Open, with Lee managing to hold off Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland to clinch a one shot victory at Memorial Park.
In many ways, it was a vintage performance from the 26-year-old. He was fearless off the tee and when attacking flags. And when his putter got hot, he was unstoppable; Lee had nine putts in nine holes at one stage on Saturday.
Min Woo Lee backed to compete at The Masters after winning the Texas Children’s Houston Open
Occasionally, Lee landed himself in trouble off the tee, including on the last two par fives on Sunday. That has left some wondering whether Lee could be too erratic to shine at The Masters.
However, speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman has insisted that he would now not be surprised to see the youngster in the mix at Augusta National.
“He is really, really good around the greens. Super creative, and you have to have some of that to be good at Augusta. He has great touch when he is on the greens. Good putter. He has length, there is plenty of things that he has that could definitely make him a player that could contend at Augusta,” he said.
“I think what he is continuing to get better at, and I think you have to give his caddie, a bit of credit here is that I think for a long time with Min Woo the talent was there but maybe the decision making wasn’t consistent through 72 holes. I think he is getting better, but it’s not all the way there. Sometimes I think he runs and guns a little bit too much, whereas at Augusta you really need to be one shot at a time and have a strategy on your brain when you hit every single shot.
“For Min I think it is just showing up with a good, solid game plan of knowing where to miss it because Augusta National, that is really what it is all about of where to avoid to not make double bogeys. I think he could be a player that could contend. I probably didn’t feel that way quite as much coming into the week. Does a win change that? I think what I saw was a little bit more control in his game throughout the week. I know the golf course was easy and is probably perfect for Min but he has got a lot of tools in the chest and Augusta requires you to have a lot.”
Holding off Scottie Scheffler another positive sign ahead of Augusta National
Not only can Lee take encouragement from the maiden victory on the PGA Tour, but also the player who he beat to clinch the title.
Of course, the favourite heading to Augusta National is going to be Scottie Scheffler. The world number one has won the first major of the year in two of the last three years, and he appears to be starting to edge closer and closer to that first victory of 2025.
So the fact that Lee was able to hold off his challenge at Memorial Park is definitely a positive sign as The Masters looms.
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