Lee confirmed that he will be at Augusta National for a second straight year by winning one of his three group matches at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas to earn an invitation via keeping his world ranking inside the top 50 at No.47.

The 24-year-old lit up the first major of the year in 2022 with a front nine 30 to finish inside the top 15 and he will head down Magnolia Lane brimming with confidence courtesy of his stellar performances in recent months that includes a tied sixth finish at The Players Championship and six top 10 results on the DP World Tour.

To my team, family, friends and fans. I’m delighted to tell you some news. We are heading back to heaven on Earth. Augusta, see you soon 💚🌺 @TheMasters pic.twitter.com/Q5FyV9q4d9

— Min Woo Lee (@Minwoo27Lee) March 25, 2023

Smyth has also started the year in impressive fashion with the Sydneysider chalking up three top 10s on the Asian Tour and he continued his good form with a third-place finish at the World City Championship in Hong Kong to grab one of the four Open spots on offer.

The 27-year-old will make his major debut at Royal Liverpool after he closed out the third and final round – the tournament was reduced to 54 holes due to inclement weather – with a second consecutive four-under par 66.

Smyth joins defending champion Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Harrison Crowe, ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner David Micheluzzi, Lee and Haydn Barron – who both earned spots at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open – as Australians who have already confirmed their place in the field.

“I am super excited, as I haven’t played a major before,” Smyth said. “The Open at a links course means tough conditions and a tough major championship which I really look forward to.”

Vic Open champion Michael Hendry came runner-up to Taichi Kho of Hong Kong, but the New Zealander booked in a third trip to The Open having previously played in 2017 and 2018.

Congratulations to Taichi Kho, Michael Hendry, Travis Smyth and Bio Kim!

All four players have qualified for The 151st Open thanks to their performances at the World City Championship presented by Hong Kong Golf Club!

Read more here 👉https://t.co/vtwkvFdJQt pic.twitter.com/H081EgQGeS

— The Open (@TheOpen) March 26, 2023

Jason Day’s rankings rise continues with the former world No.1 moving to 33^rd in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Day reached the quarterfinals at Austin Country Club where he went down to world No.1 Scottie Scheffler 2&1. He infamously suffered from vertigo when he collapsed at the 2015 US Open and during his match with Scheffler, Day was experiencing head spins and cloudiness, but he eased concerns by confirming that those symptoms were related to allergies.

Only weeks ago, Day’s place at The Masters was in the balance but after missing the chance to compete for the green jacket last year, he has comfortably met the criteria to receive an invite for a shot at a second major title.

Day and Lee’s addition to the field stretches out the Australian contingent to five with Smith, 2013 champion Scott and Crowe already invited.

The news was not as kind for Lucas Herbert who will not be in the field at Augusta National with his Round of 16 loss to Rory McIlroy not enough to push him inside the world top 50. The 27-year-old made seven birdies to McIlroy’s nine in the contest that went to the 18^th hole, and he has moved from No.56 to No.51 in the world.

#OWGR update after week #12:

1Scottie
2Rory
3Rahm
4Cantlay
5Cam
6Homa
7Xander
8WillZ
9Viktor
10Burns🏆
11JT
12Collin
13Finau
14Young
15Fitz
16Spieth
17Hatton
18Im
19Kim
20Kurt
33Day
47MinWoo
49JTP
51Herbert
54Hughes
59Rickie
65Putnam
66Kuch
69Spaun
80Detry
82Clark
117Wally🏆

— Nosferatu (@VC606) March 26, 2023

Brett Drewitt registered the best result of an Australian this week with a tied fourth finish at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship in Georgia.    

Drewitt has come inside the top eight in four of his five Korn Ferry Tour starts this year and he is currently eighth on the Points List with the top 30 at season’s end to be awarded PGA Tour membership.

Gabi Ruffels backed up her win last week by coming in a tie for sixth at the Epson Tour’s IOA Championship, while Sam Brazel, Zach Murray, Brett Coletta and Deyen Lawson all shared ninth place to round out a strong Australian showing on the Asian Tour.

New Zealand’s Steven Alker shone on the PGA Tour Champions once again with a runner-up result at the The Galleri Classic where Rod Pampling was tied 10^th.

Hannah Green was the only Australian to make the cut at the LPGA’s Drive On Championship in Arizona and she strung together back-to-back rounds of 69 on the weekend.

Results

PGA Tour

• 1 Sam Burns (USA) def. Cameron Young 6&5 $US3,500,000
• Quarterfinals – Jason Day def. by Scottie Scheffler 2&1 $US 645,000
• Round of 16 – Lucas Herbert def. by Rory McIlroy 2-up $US 365,000
• Group stage – Cam Davis two wins, one loss $US 219,909; Ryan Fox (NZ) two wins, one loss $US 219,909; Min Woo Lee one win, two losses $US 113,761; Adam Scott one win, two losses $US 113,761.

Corales Puntacana Championship

Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales GCse), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

• 1 Matt Wallace (ENG) 67-66-70-66-269 $US 684,000
• T46 Aaron Baddeley 74-66-70-74-284 $US 11,970
• T56 Greg Chalmers 72-70-72-72-286 $US 8,854
• T58 Harrison Endycott 75-69-71-72-287 $US 8,702
• T68 Cameron Percy 74-70-77-69-290 $US 8,170
• MC Geoff Ogilvy 75-70-145

LPGA Tour

LPGA Drive On Championship

Superstition Mountain G&CC, Gold Canyon, Arizona

• 1 Celine Boutier (FRA) 69-66-65-68-268 $US 262,500 * won in a playoff
• T48 Hannah Green 73-67-69-69-278 $US 6,676
• MC Grace Kim 70-72-142
• MC Sarah Kemp 72-71-143
• MC Stephanie Kyriacou 68-75-143
• MC Karis Davidson 73-74-147

Asian Tour

World City Championship

Hong Kong Golf Club, Hong Kong

• 1 Taichi Kho (HK) 64-64-70-198 $US 180,000
• 2 Michael Hendry (NZ) 68-64-68-200 $US 110,000
• 3 Travis Smyth 69-66-66-201 $US 63,000
• T9 Sam Brazel 70-67-67-204 $US 15,950
• T9 Zach Murray 71-66-67-204 $US 15,950
• T9 Brett Coletta 69-67-68-204 $US 15,950
• T9 Deyen Lawson 69-67-68-204 $US 15,950
• T18 Todd Sinnott 70-68-67-205 $US 11,091.67
• T24 Thomas Power Horan 71-68-67-206 $US 9,100
• T24 Wade Ormsby 69-70-67-206 $US 9,100
• T24 Kevin Tuan 66-71-69-206 $US 9,100
• T31 Andrew Martin 73-65-69-207 $US 7,312.50
• T39 Ben Campbell (NZ) 67-71-70-208 $US 6,030
• T45 Scott Hend 65-71-73-209 $US 4,855.56
• T64 John Lyras 67-70-75-212 $US 2,800
• T67 Terry Pilkadaris 69-69-75-213 $US 2,550
• MC Andrew Dodt 74-67-141
• MC James Gill (a) (NZ) 73-70-143
• MC Jack Thompson 69-74-143
• MC Harrison Gilbert 73-76-149
• MC Marcus Fraser 79-74-153
• MC Shane Kuiti (NZ) 77-80-157

Korn Ferry Tour

Club Car Championship

The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek), Savannah, Georgia

• 1 David Skinns (ENG) 67-68-68-68-271 $US 180,000
• T4 Brett Drewitt 70-68-67-68-273 $US 45,000
• MC Curtis Luck 79-73-152

Epson Tour

IOA Championship

Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon, Beaumont, California

• 1 Miranda Wang (CHN) 69-65-70-204
• T6 Gabi Ruffels 69-66-74-209
• T31 Robyn Choi 70-73-71-214
• T31 Hira Naveed 67-75-72-214
• T42 Cassie Porter 72-73-71-216
• MC Amelia Garvey (NZ) 76-74-150
• MC Sarah Jane Smith 78-76-154

PGA Tour Champions

The Galleri Classic

Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California

• 1 David Toms (USA) 65-70-65-200 $US 330,000
• 2 Steven Alker 68-69-67-204 $US 193,600
• T10 Rod Pampling 67-72-68-207 $US 57,200
• T26 Richard Green 67-73-71-211 $US 20,900
• T26 David McKenzie 71-68-72-211 $US 20,900
• T53 John Senden 77-68-72-217 $US 5,500
• T53 Stuart Appleby 77-70-70-217 $US 5,500
• T67 Robert Allenby 70-75-75-220 $US 2,420

PGA Tour Lationamerica

Roberto de Vicenzo Memorial 100 Years

Ranelagh Golf Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina