Buoyed by a tie for sixth in his third start since joining the European Tour bubble in the United Kingdom, Lee enters this week’s Celtic Classic with a valuable shot of confidence, the first of two successive events that will be played at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, host venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup.

The Australian contingent has been bolstered by the arrival of Victorian Zach Murray with Lee and fellow long bomber Ryan Fox drawn to play together for the opening two rounds.

It is another massive week for Australia’s touring professionals with the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open welcoming Hannah Green for her first start since the COVID-19 pandemic and Stephanie Kyriacou playing her first event in Europe since winning the Geoff King Motors Classic at Bonville Golf Resort by seven strokes in February.

Like Kyriacou, Lee guaranteed his immediate future with a co-sanctioned European Tour win on home soil earlier in the year, his peerless display at the Vic Open ensuring his status for the next two years at least.

Lee’s victory at Thirteenth Beach Golf Links also catapulted him to second on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and the 22-year-old admitted that the Aussie calendar will be closely monitored as he plots his schedule for the remainder of the year.

The ongoing management of the coronavirus outbreak has made scheduling incredibly difficult with the Australian Open postponed and the Australian PGA Championship currently slated to be played at Royal Queensland from 3-6 December.

The change in scheduling has prompted a move to a wrap-around season that will conclude in March 2021 but the leading two players as at December 31, 2020 will receive the exemptions into the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship next February, another potentially critical step in Lee’s development.

“It’s important. There are a lot of opportunities in the Order of Merit so I’m looking forward to playing the tournaments and the big Aussie events that count,” said Lee, currently $16,040 behind leader Brad Kennedy.

“I’m not sure what the schedule is going to be like but it’s definitely going to be a consideration for me.

“I haven’t played a major yet but it could be a way to get the majors into my schedule.”

The security of his European Tour exemption allows Lee to play with a sense of freedom and aggression but he is determined to prove that his Vic Open triumph was no one-hit wonder.

“It was definitely nice to get a win under the belt but it’s not where I want to stop,” said Lee.

“Your swing changes every week depending on the feels on the range and on the course but mentally it’s definitely helpful.

“It’s also a release of a bit of pressure. You’re out there trying to get your card and now that I’ve got it for a couple of years it’s definitely a big help.

“You can go and send it out there and not have to play too conservatively which is nice.”

A surprise, socially-distanced celebration for his 22nd birthday on July 27 somewhat broke the monotony of life in the bubble, a lack of variety in the dining room the main complaint of a young man spoiled by his grandmother’s Korean cooking when home in Perth. (‘Food’ even has its own Stories highlight on Lee’s Instagram page.)

There are games of Call of Duty against fellow European Tour players such as Aussies Jake McLeod and Zach Murray and South African Haydn Porteous and there is a new look that he says has been well received thus far.

“The visor was just a change. There’s no ‘visor power’,” Lee said of his new headwear choice.

“I didn’t look at anyone and decide I wanted to try it, I just kind of wanted to give it a go.

“As soon as I started wearing it there were a few compliments at the golf course back home and thought I would bring it out to the tour.

“It worked out last week so hopefully keep it going.”

Round 1 tee times (AEST)

European Tour
Celtic Classic
The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales
5.28pm Min Woo Lee, Ryan Fox, Jorge Campillo
5.50pm Jason Scrivener, Thomas Pieters, Adri Arnaus
6.39pm Michael Campbell, Jbe Kruger, Gavin Moynihan
9.29pm Scott Hend, David Drysdale, Jamie Donaldson
11.13pm              Jake McLeod, Steven Tiley, Lee Slattery
11.46pm              Maverick Antcliff, Zach Murray, Ashley Chesters

Top Aussie prediction: Jason Scrivener
TV schedule: Live 9pm-11pm, 12am-3am Thursday and Friday; Live 12am-4am Sunday; Live 11.30pm-4am Sunday on Fox Sports 503.

PGA TOUR
Wyndham Championship
Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina
9.10pm John Senden, Patrick Rodgers, Scott Harrington
9.40pm Greg Chalmers, Tyler Duncan, Jason Dufner
10.20pm*            Danny Lee, Bronson Burgoon, Doc Redman
10.30pm              Tim Wilkinson, Lucas Glover, Bud Cauley
10.50pm              Rhein Gibson, Nelson Ledesma, Vince Covello
2.15am*              Aaron Baddeley, Peter Malnati, Zac Blair
2.25am*              Cameron Davis, Fabián Gómez, Henrik Norlander
3.25am*              Cameron Percy, Chesson Hadley, Sam Burns
3.35am*              Matt Jones, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Denny McCarthy                         

Past Australian winners: Steve Elkington (1990)
Defending champion: JT Poston
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Davis
TV schedule: Live 4am-8am Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday on Fox Sports 503

Korn Ferry Tour
Albertsons Boise Open
Hillcrest Country Club, Boise, Idaho
12.36am*            Ryan Ruffels, Dan McCarthy, Tag Ridings
12.47am*            Brett Drewitt, Conrad Shindler, Yuwa Kosaihira
4.52am Steven Alker, Jared Wolfe, Adam Svensson
5.36am*              Brett Coletta, Kevin Dougherty, Derek Ernst
5.47am*              Curtis Luck, Paul Haley II, Greg Yates
6.20am*              Harrison Endycott, Sebastián Vázquez, Brandon Wu

Past Australian winners: Greg Chalmers (2005)
Defending champion: Matthew NeSmith
Top Aussie prediction: Ryan Ruffels
TV schedule: 12pm-1.30pm Friday, Saturday; Live 7am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 503

Champions Tour
Bridgestone Senior Players Championship
Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio
11.55pm*            David McKenzie, Duffy Waldorf, David Frost
1am       Rod Pampling, Mark Calcavecchia, Dudley Hart    
1.35am*              Stephen Leaney, Jesper Parnevik, Shaun Micheel

Defending champion: Retief Goosen
Past Australian winners: Stewart Ginn (2002)
Top Aussie prediction: Rod Pampling
TV schedule: Live 1am-4am Friday; 1am-3.30am Saturday; 5am-8am Sunday; 4.30am-7am Monday on Fox Sports 507

Ladies European Tour
Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
The Renaissance Club, North Berwick
5.25pm Stephanie Kyriacou, Yu Liu, Diksha Dagar
5.47pm Whitney Hillier, Jasmine Suwannapura, Tonje Daffinrud
5.58pm Sarah Jane Smith, Alena Sharp, Hannah Burke
6.09pm Katherine Kirk, Emma Nilsson, Liz Young
6.20pm Sarah Kemp, Amy Olson, Gerina Piller
9.05pm Hannah Green, Beth Allen, Charlotte Thomas
12.34am              Lydia Ko, Pernilla Lindberg, Yui Kawamoto
1.07am Minjee Lee, Anne Van Dam, Nasa Hataoka

Defending champion: Mi Jung Hur
Past Australian winners: Rebecca Artis (2015)
Top Aussie prediction: Minjee Lee
TV schedule: Live 9pm-1am Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Fox Sports 505

* Starting from 10th tee