Min Woo Lee is off to a scorching begin within the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, with the defending champion main at -4 via 13 holes in his opening spherical.
Lee is one third of a famous person group to tee off early alongside fellow Aussies Cameron Smith and Jason Day.
On the par 3 fourth, Lee made his first bogey of the day to drop a shot and be joined in a six-way tie for the lead with Australians Ben Eccles, Elvis Smylie, Harrison Crowe and Jordan Zunic in addition to South African Aldrich Potgieter.
Day and Smith are each one shot again, so too is Marc Leishman as there’s a leaderboard logjam happening among the many morning teams.
Smith struggled to seek out his groove early – regardless of giving the wholesome crowd some chipping highlights – however has moved as much as -2.
Internationals Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Jordan Smith (-3) are additionally up there early.
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LEADERBOARD: Observe the newest scores and updates from Royal Queensland
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SELECTED RD 1 TEE TIMES
6:00am AEST, Tee 10 — David Micheluzzi, Jordan Smith, Aldrich Potgieter
6:10am AEST, Tee 10 — Min Woo Lee, Cameron Smith, Jason Day
6:20am AEST, Tee 10 — Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Marc Leishman, Harry Higgs
11:10am AEST, Tee 1 — Victor Perez, Cameron Davis, Lucas Herbert
11:20am AEST, Tee 1 — Yannik Paul, Brett Coletta, Geoff Ogilvy
11:30am AEST, Tee 1 — Nicolas Colsaerts, Jason Scrivener, Curtis Luck
11:40am AEST, Tee 1 — Rafa Cabrera Bello, Fred Biondi, Jake McLeod
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Min Woo Lee returns to defend his title whereas Jason Day is chasing a second main and hometown hero Cameron Smith is true within the operating because the 88th version of the Australian PGA Championship will get underway on Thursday.
The Australian trio all tee off on the identical time (6.10am) and talking to foxsports.com.au forward of his return to Royal Queensland, Lee stated he looks like his sport is “very shut” to being again in competition once more.
“As soon as facet of the sport I wanted to get higher at was my strategy play and the previous few months have type of confirmed that the work my group has achieved has obtained there,” he stated.
“As a result of I’m hitting it higher, changing doesn’t appear as changing as a result of I used to overlook loads of greens and make loads of up and downs.
“However now I’m hitting greens, you’re clearly not going to gap each putt, however hopefully I can hit it nearer and gap some putts.”
Day, in the meantime, stated on Wednesday that his latest resurgence has lit a hearth inside him to chase a second main in 2025, a decade after the Australian smashed via the barrier on the PGA Championship.
Day gained seven PGA Tour titles in 17 begins throughout 2015 and 2016. On the time, some predicted the subsequent Tiger Woods could have arrived.
However since capturing his maiden main at Whistling Straits in 2015 he has did not once more style success at golf’s 4 greatest occasions, with again accidents severely hampering his profession.
ULTIMATE GUIDE: When the massive weapons tee off and who the favorite is
Day vows to play extra golf in Aus | 02:20
The 37-year-old loved a resurgence in 2023, fuelled by swing adjustments designed to alleviate strain on his decrease again.
Day gained his thirteenth PGA Tour title and finally 12 months’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool tied for second.
He has posted 4 top-10s on the PGA Tour this 12 months and stated at Royal Queensland in Brisbane forward of the Australian PGA Championship.
“I be ok with my sport,” the previous world primary stated.
“A objective (for 2025) is to attempt to win a serious and one other objective is to win an elevated (PGA Tour) occasion.
“The objective for me has all the time been making an attempt to win all 4 (majors). I do know I undoubtedly have the sport to win majors.”
It’s Day’s first look in his homeland since 2017.
Elsewhere, Smith is aware of time is operating out to bag a primary victory of 2024 and the key champion is hungry to get it achieved in his hometown of Brisbane at this week’s Australian PGA Championship.
The occasion at Royal Queensland Golf Membership is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and is the primary cease of the European circuit’s international 2025 schedule.
Smith determined for Aussie redemption | 00:57
The 31-year-old Smith is but to report a person win this 12 months and has solely a handful of tournaments remaining to vary that.
After the Australian PGA he’ll tee up within the Australian Open subsequent week in Melbourne and the Asian Tour’s Saudi Worldwide in early December.
“I’d love for my first win (of 2024) to come back right here,” Smith, who’s a member at Royal Queensland, stated Tuesday.
“I might have cherished for it to come back just a little bit earlier. I really feel just a little added strain with tournaments operating out.”
He’s determined to maintain alive a streak of profitable a minimum of one match worldwide annually since 2020 throughout the PGA, DP World and LIV Golf excursions after a number of shut calls in 2024.
On the LIV Golf circuit he posted three runner-up finishes and performed a component in his group, Ripper GC, profitable the league’s season-long title.
On the majors his spotlight was tied sixth on the Masters.
To sharpen up, Florida-based Smith returned to Australia in October and performed two humble state-level occasions.
On the Queensland PGA Championship he tied for third and was second behind Lucas Herbert finally week’s New South Wales Open.
Min Woo Lee on his ‘daring’ chef hat stunt | 01:23
Fellow Australian Herbert can be within the operating this week.
Smith is decided to atone for final 12 months’s Australian PGA, the place, as defending champion, he shot a seven-over 78 within the second spherical and missed the reduce.
On the time he choked again tears and conceded a scarcity of competitors contributed to what he referred to as his worst day in 10 years as knowledgeable golfer.
“I really feel like my sport is in a very great place,” Smith added on Tuesday.
“I’ve achieved all of the prep, notably the final month, to actually be aggressive. I wish to be in competition on Sunday.”