Min Woo Lee returns to Genesis Scottish Open during life-changing season

Returning to the Genesis Scottish Open is always gratifying for Min Woo Lee. He is a proud Australian by way of Perth, but Lee’s memories at Renaissance Club are one reason why, like so many golfers, Scotland is a favorite destination.

It was at Renaissance two years ago that Lee claimed perhaps the biggest title of his career, winning the Genesis Scottish Open in a playoff over Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry. Lee, then 22, started the final round in fifth place, three strokes off the lead, but made a Sunday charge by shooting 64.

Fitzpatrick was a top-25 player in the world when Lee bested him in North Berwick and a year later Fitzpatrick would win the U.S. Open, but on this day it was Lee who prevailed.

“It meant a lot. It mean everything,” said Lee, who celebrate his 25th birthday July 27. “It did settle me into Europe. I had a lot of good finishes the next year thanks to winning that tournament.

“It was not a small tournament, either. Maybe it wasn’t one of the majors, but it felt like one with so many big names over to get ready for The Open Championship. A lot of guys were right there.”

The win rocketed Lee from 240th in the world ranking to 67th, and the forward progress has been ongoing ever since. He closed 2021 with three top-10s in his last four starts to crack into the all-important top 50 of the world ranking for the first time.

Now Lee is in the midst of a potentially life-changing season. His success on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR has opened up new avenues for the kid who turned pro just four years ago.

This is the first season that the top 10 finishers in the DP World Tour who are not already exempt on the PGA TOUR will be rewarded with TOUR cards. Lee currently ranks fifth in the Race to Dubai after four top-five finishes this season. That includes a T5 in the U.S. Open, his first top-10 in a major.

But that isn’t Lee’s only potential path to a PGA TOUR card in 2024. He also has earned Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR for the 2023 season. He has 368 non-member FedExCup points this season thanks to a T6 at THE PLAYERS, his top-five at the U.S. Open and T9 at the Travelers Championship. Lee would currently rank 103rd in the FedExCup. He could also gain PGA TOUR status for next year if he can finish this season with a number of non-member FedExCup points equal to or greater than No. 125 in the FedExCup standings.

The young Aussie, known for producing prodigious length from his slight frame, is well known to golf’s inner circle. His average driving distance this season is 315.4 yards, which would rank in the top 10 on TOUR.

No question, the stratosphere is quite a bit different these days for Lee and for proof, consider how a small little scene played out at the U.S. Open in June at Los Angeles Country Club.

With a burst out of the gates – 69-65 for 134 and a share of sixth place – Lee pushed himself into the spotlight. It was then that Adam Scott asked his young countryman if he needed a ride on his plane to the following week’s tournament, the Travelers Championship.

“I told him I wasn’t yet in,” laughed Lee, who said that both players understood that there was still time to “top 10 your way in.”

Sure enough, Lee showed the sort of firepower that is starting to be a part of his makeup as he closed with a bogey-free 67 to finish joint fifth. The plane ride was still available – “It was a very special thing he did,” said Lee – and his spot in the Travelers was secured.

All Lee did at TPC River Highlands was finish T9, his third top-10 in 11 PGA TOUR starts in 2023. With his standing on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, the Genesis Scottish Open, which is sanctioned by both circuits, comes at a beautiful time in his career.

“The is always good vibes when I go there,” he said. “I haven’t won too many tournaments, but it’s going to be nice to go back and see my face on the big board with past champions.

“It’s nice. It means a lot. I think I’m becoming the golfer I want to be.”