[Photo: Jonathan Bachman]
Min Woo Lee has ended speculation that he is signing with LIV Golf, telling AAP that he will not defect to the Saudi-backed circuit.
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Since its inception in 2022, the northern autumn has served as a rumour mill for LIV, with various marquee names weighing a jump to the fledgling league. Save for Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton’s jump towards the end of 2023, those whispers have mostly proved to be nothing more than gossip. Conversely, within golf circles, there has been speculation over the past few months that Lee, 27, was in discussions to join LIV in its fifth season. Although Lee has several impressive international wins – including the Australian PGA Championship and Scottish Open – the West Australian was mostly known to American audiences as a social-media sensation. That changed in 2025, as he earned his inaugural win on the PGA Tour at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
As LIV continues to brand itself as a global tour (despite playing half its schedule in the United States), Lee fit the bill as a potential target for the league’s Australian-based Ripper GC team. However, Lee told AAP’s Darren Walton that he has no current appetite to leave for LIV Golf.
“There’s been a lot of rumours. I’m not going and am just going to play on the PGA Tour,” Lee told the AAP. “So, I’m happy with where I’m at and, yeah, I’m looking forward to next year.”
Interestingly, the other player that had been rumoured with Lee to go to LIV, Aldrich Potgieter, plans to leave GSE Worldwide to join Entertainment Sports Partners. The move is significant in that GSE clients comprise roughly 20 percent of LIV Golf’s membership.
It’s worth noting plenty of players have denied going to LIV in the past, only to eventually sign with the league. Still, if Lee is to be believed, expect the Aussie to build off his breakout year on the PGA and DP World tours in 2026.
For now, his focus is on qualifying for the 2026 Masters through the top-50 world ranking exemption, as Lee currently ranks 46th.
“Yeah, I never want to miss a major, the Masters especially. It’s one of the biggest tournaments in the world so I’ll do whatever I can to get in,” Lee said. “I’ve just got to play good golf in the Aussie summer and hopefully I can lock it up.
