Min Woo Lee Uses ‘Magic’ at The Players Championship to Contend

Min Woo Lee started the Players Championship at full speed and finished the first round just one stroke off the lead. The Australian showed an excellent level of golf and hit some very good shots.

One of the moments of the round where he had to work hard was on the 18th hole, where he sent his tee shot completely astray to the right, even outside the ropes.

The ball was in a position where it had trees and other obstacles blocking the way back to the fairway. The lie was so tricky that instead of looking for a solid second shot, Lee tried to roll the ball through the trees using the cart path.

“I wanted to hit the cart path maybe once, but not four times, something like that, four or five times,” Lee said after his round. “I tried to one-bounce it and then the second – hopefully the second bounce was under the branches and letting it roll out to the fairway.”

The 26-year-old left a sample of his tremendous quality on his third shot. The ball was on the edge of the fairway, but still under the trees. Lee executed a pitching wedge shot, looking for the ball to not carry much, but to roll down the fairway and reach the green.

The shot was so well executed that Lee joked about the supernatural powers he used to keep the ball from falling into the water, even though it was less than five feet from the pond.

“That third shot could have easily gone in the water had I just pulled it, but used a bit of magic and tried to cut up a pitching wedge out of the rough and — out of the pine straw, and it was absolutely perfect.”

The job was not done, however, as the Australian still had a 22-foot putt to play. The moment could not have been more dramatic as the ball from Lee’s putter appeared to go over the right edge, but somehow rolled in and landed in the bottom of the cup.

Min Woo Lee’s Players Championship’s first round included six birdies and one bogey to finish the first 18 holes in a tie for fourth place.

Lee has kept the pedal to the metal in the second round. Through the 15th hole, he has seven birdies and no bogeys, and sits at 10-under, one shot clear of Rory McIlroy.

Lee, also known as “Dr. Chipinski,” due to his extraordinary skills with his wedges, earned his PGA Tour card in 2024 and is still looking for his first win at this level.

His sister, Minjee Lee, has won two major championships, been World No. 1, and remains one of the top stars on the LPGA Tour.

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