Two weeks ago at The Players Championship, Min Woo Lee held a share of the 36-hole lead alongside Akshay Bhatia.
But Lee woke up on that sunny — albeit breezy — Saturday in Northeast Florida not feeling like himself. You could sense that from his performance too. The young and entertaining Aussie did not have his best stuff with him, failing to find the fairway more often than not. He plummeted down the leaderboard with a 6-over 78 and ultimately tied for 20th.
Fast forward to this week, and Lee looks like a new man. He soared into the 54-hole lead on Saturday evening, thanks to a masterful 7-under 63. He began the final round at 17-under par, four clear of Alejandro Tosti.
Lee even beat World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by six shots on Saturday, a remarkable accomplishment considering Scheffler began the day leading by one. It also marked the lowest round of Lee’s PGA Tour career.
Now, he holds the 54-hole lead at a PGA Tour event for the first time in his career. Lee has won three times on the DP World Tour, which includes a victory at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in 2023. But he has not gotten over the hump anywhere in the world since.
“I want to be in this situation more and more,” Lee said Saturday.
“Just have to keep my head down and try to hit one shot at a time. It’s a long day so you can’t get ahead of yourself, and you’ve just got to hit one shot at a time and keep trusting your game.”
Can Lee do just that and win on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career?
He will have to take things one step at a time on Sunday, staying in the present and not thinking too far ahead. But remaining stoic will be a significant factor too.
“I‘m starting to learn golf is golf and don’t get too emotional about bad shots, it’s going to happen, especially on a Sunday, even if you had the lead or not,” Lee said.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, one shot at a time.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
