A switch to his putting grip and a heady mix of grit and patience has kept Min Woo Lee within touch of the front-runners on day one of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
Lee, fellow Australians Cameron John and Lucas Herbert and Kiwi Kazuma Kobori all ended Round 1 where they started at even par, five shots back of surprise leader Jackson Suber, the American making birdie on 16 and eagle on 17 to post 5-under 66.
Lee moved into red figures on the back of birdies at five and seven but dropped back to square with the card with a bogey at the par-5 17th where he missed the fairway right and was forced to lay up. He missed the green right with his third shot and then failed to convert his par putt from eight feet.
RELATED: Open Championship 2026: Seven-strong Aussie contingent all fail to break par on opening day
t was one of few blemishes with the flatstick for the 27-year-old who has worked with coach Ritchie Smith on changing back from a cross-handed putting grip to a more conventional grip just two starts back.
It worked a treat at the Genesis Scottish Open where he finished second and he was sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting on Thursday to give himself a fighting shot going into Round 2.
“A bit of grit and bit of patience,” was Lee’s immediate summary, who will start day two in a tie for 39th.
“I think if I hit it like that a couple years ago or last year, I would have probably made a lot more bogeys.
“It was good to grind it out and shoot level-par.
“I just didn’t think I had a great putting stroke under pressure.
“There was something physical and mentally that wasn’t right, and I just needed a change, some sort of a change to get me out of that funk.
“It’s great. It’s nice to hit putts – still a little nervous – but hit putts that go in the middle.”
Early bogeys at two and six had Herbert on the back foot but the Victorian responded in typical bulldog fashion with birdies at 11 and 17 to join Lee, John and Kobori at even par.
He converted a birdie chance from 18 feet at the 435-yard par-4 11th and then got up-and-down from just short of the par-5 17th, narrowly missing a final birdie try from 15 feet on 18 to end his opening round.
Like Herbert, Kobori did his best work on the Royal Birkdale back nine.
Playing in his second Open Championship, the 2023/2024 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner went out in 2-over 36 but was even par just two holes later courtesy of birdies from 12 and eight feet respectively at 10 and 11.
He gave one back after coming up short at the par-3 12th but holed a 20-footer for birdie at the controversial par-3 15th to get back to even par. A dropped shot at 16 would be erased by birdie at 17, his eagle putt from 15 feet coming up just short.
Reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Travis Smyth responded after a nervy start to shoot 1-over 71, Adam Scott and Kiwi pair Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier each shooting 72.
Major champions Jason Day and Cam Smith both felt as though their 3-over 73s didn’t reflect the quality of their play.
Day lamented some short game carelessness that cost shots on the back nine while Smith is looking forward to an earlier start and fresher putting surfaces in Round 2.
“I honestly feel like I hit it pretty good today,” said the 2022 champion.
“Just need to get a metre in the fairway rather than out of it, and I think it’s a different story.
“(The greens) were getting pretty baked out and a little bit bouncy. Felt like you couldn’t really be aggressive.
“Looking forward to some fresher greens, hopefully see some putts go in.”
Round 1 Australasian scores
T39 Min Woo Lee 70
T39 Kazuma Kobori (NZ) 70
T39 Lucas Herbert 70
T39 Cameron John 70
T60 Travis Smyth 71
T85 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 72
T85 Ryan Fox (NZ) 72
T85 Adam Scott 72
T106 Jason Day 73
T106 Cameron Smith 73
Round 2 tee times AEST
4:08pm Cameron Smith
6:03pm Lucas Herbert
6:25pm Adam Scott
7:53pm Cameron John
8:52pm Daniel Hillier (NZ)
9:03pm Ryan Fox (NZ)
10:53pm Travis Smyth
11:31pm Min Woo Lee
11:53pm Jason Day
12:48am Kazuma Kobori (NZ)
