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Min Woo Lee’s stunning back-nine eagle set up a charge towards his career-best result on the PGA Tour as he and fellow Callaway staffer Erik van Rooyen shared second place at the Cognizant Classic at PGA National in Florida.
Only hours after he and sister Minjee Lee were featured on ABC’s Australian Story Monday night, Lee, in Florida, overcame a double-bogey 5 at the par-3 fifth to make the turn in one-rounder par during a weather-interrupted final round in Palm Beach Gardens.
At the 526-yard, par-5 10th, Lee smoked his Paradym Triple Diamond Driver 322 yards down the fairway before firing a laser from 204 yards to eight feet from the hole. Watch the second shot here:
Lee drained the eagle putt before a birdie at the par-4 12th to be in the hunt.
Lee posted a 67 to finish at 14 under par and three shots behind the winner. The 25-year-old gained a whopping 6.043 shots on the Cognizant field using his Apex MB irons, ranking fourth for the week in strokes gained: approach. He was also in the top 26 in the field for strokes gained: off the tee and in scrambling for par saves. Check out his hole-out pitch shot from earlier in the week:
Lee soaked up his first runner-up on the PGA Tour in what was a tough tournament with weather delays. “I’m really proud of the way I handled myself this week.
“It was hectic but also I needed to just keep my head in the game. I don’t really have that many Monday finishes. It was pretty tough to regroup and lock in. Last night I was just on my phone for a couple hours just like, ‘What am I doing? I need to get sleep.’ It felt like it was the end of the tournament, but we had another 12 hours of golf to play.”
Lee was confirmed as having played his way into this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill via the top five points earners from the non-Signature events. “My manager Brent signed me up for that yesterday and I saw it on the email, and I know he tried to do it on the low, but I did see it come through the email saying that I was signed up for it just in case I do — I think I needed a solo third. I knew that before last night that I needed to play like that. It’s amazing. I was thinking about it coming down the stretch. I was thinking about the win, but yeah, was a really proud moment today.”
Lee’s second place rocketed him up to No.31 on the world rankings, bringing him closer to making Australia’s men’s golf team for the Paris Olympics in August. Lee’s previous best finish on the PGA Tour was a T5 at last year’s US Open.
South African native, van Rooyen, also played his way into the Arnold Palmer Invitational courtesy of the top 10 on the current FedEx Cup rankings. van Rooyen (T2/-14), who finished with a final-round 63 on Sunday, claimed back-to-back top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour following a T8 at the Mexico Open, for the first time since the 2021 FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship (7th-5th). Van Rooyen’s seven-under 28 on the front nine of the final round tied his career-best nine-hole score (back nine of the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship that he won).
WHAT’S IN THE BAG – MIN WOO LEE
Driver: Paradym Triple Diamond (10.5°) with Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X Shaft
Fairway Wood: Paradym Triple Diamond (16.5°) with Fujikura Ventus Blue 10X Shaft
Utility iron: X Forged UT (2-iron) with True Temper AMT Tour White Shaft
Irons: Apex MB (4-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Shafts
Wedge: Jaws MD 5 (50°) with Nippon NS Pro Modus Shaft
Putter: Odyssey Tri Hot 5K Double Wide
Ball: Chrome Soft X
WHAT’S IN THE BAG – ERIK VAN ROOYEN
Driver: Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees)
Utility iron: Apex UW (17 degrees) X Forged UT (18 degrees)
Irons: Apex TCB (4) Apex MB (5-PW)
On the DP World Tour, Germany’s Nick Bachem was the top Callaway player, tied fourth at the SDP Championship in South Africa. Meanwhile on the LPGA Tour, Callaway ambassador Andrea Lee finished seventh at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
