As the 36-hole leader, Min Woo Lee was poised to make the biggest step in his professional career at THE PLAYERS Championship this week, but his weekend ended up being a disappointment.
With closing rounds of 78-73, the West Australian eventually finished in a tie for 20th alongside Kiwi Ryan Fox, with Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun to return on Monday morning for a three-hole playoff to decide the champion.
Lee’s stunning 66 in the second round was the highlight of the week for the Australian contingent, as fellow Aussies Adam Scott, Karl Vilips and Cam Davis all failed to make the cut.
“This is a true test of everything in your game and it’s a great course to play before the Masters, for sure,” Lee told Australian Golf Digest.
“The Masters is right around the corner. Bay Hill last week was the toughest course of the year and (Lee missed the cut) and this week I showed my game is trending in the right direction.”
Victorian Lucas Herbert continued his strong run of form, finishing T14 at LIV Golf Singapore even with a closing 74.
New Zealand’s Ben Campbell finished in solo third as 2023 ISPS HANDA Australian Open winner Joaquin Niemann took home yet another trophy to move to the top of the season standings.
Elsewhere, West Australian Hayden Hopewell notched a top-10 on the HotelPlanner Tour in India, finishing in a tie for seventh.
PGA TOUR
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
1 *playoff between Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun to be played*
T20 Ryan Fox (NZ) 72-70-72-70 — 284 $US240,250
T20 Min Woo Lee 67-66-78-73– 284 $240,250
MC Adam Scott 74-72
MC Karl Vilips 72-78
MC Cam Davis 76-80
LIV Golf
LIV Golf Singapore
Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore
1 Joaquin Niemann 67-64-65 — 196 $US4m
3 Ben Campbell (NZ) 68-67-67 — 202 $1.5m
T14 Lucas Herbert 68-66-74 — 208 $287,000
T19 Cameron Smith 67-70-72– 209 $230,000
T32 Matt Jones 72-70-71 — 213 $151,600
T32 Danny Lee (NZ) 68-69-76 — 213 $151,600
T51 Marc Leishman 74-76-72 — 222 $55,000
HotelPlanner Tour
Kolkata Challenge
Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
1 Joshua Berry 72-62-70-73 — 277 €44,284.37
T7 Hayden Hopewell 69-68-71-72 — 280 €6,444.96
T57 Sam Jones (NZ) 71-72-72-75 — 290 €871.85
MC Haydn Barron 71-74
Epson Tour
IOA Golf Classic
Alaqua Country Club, Longwood, Florida
1 Gina Kim 65-69-68 — 202 $US 33,750
T47 Robyn Choi 70-72-72 — 214 $1,082
MC Su Oh 68-77
MC Caitlin Peirce 72-77