Rise of Min Woo Lee, odds, Scottish Open

Sure, it’s a humorous trying golf shirt. They name it a mock turtleneck.

Solely two teams of individuals can spot one from a mile away; trend fanatics, and golf followers. 

Admittedly, that may really feel like a wierd place to begin speaking about Min Woo Lee.

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Lee stood out from the group in March when his sponsors despatched him a mock turtleneck to put on on the Gamers Championship, and he hesitantly obliged.

“I used to be a bit weirded out about it when my clothes firm gave it out to me and I assumed, ‘oh, I’m by no means gonna put on this,’ the 24-year-old stated this week in an interview with Hypebeast.

“Once I introduced it out on the Gamers individuals have been actually hyping me up on social media saying, ‘the place’d you get this mock neck? This mock neck appears to be like nice on you.’ So it undoubtedly kicked off.”

Nothing has been the identical for Lee since.

In the present day, he stands as one of many PGA Tour’s most recognisable – and widespread – younger stars, who has burst contained in the world’s top-50 (No.47) golfers, up from 240th two years in the past.

There are various aspects to his shock, sudden rise to prominence within the US, however the mock turtleneck feels unusually seminal.

The garment was made well-known in golf practically 20 years in the past by Tiger Woods, who snubbed conventional collars for a one-of-a-kind, crimson Nike quantity that he in the end received the 2005 Masters in. He did the identical in 2019.

In reality, nobody who has been so daring to the touch a Woods-style turtleneck on a golf course has pulled it off since, and but, Lee someway is.

Maybe it was simply his confidence, though the best way Lee performed that week definitely helped.

Lee shared the 54-hole lead on the 12 months’s unofficial fifth main, the place the winner pockets practically $7 million AUD, whereas absorbing followers’ praises for his trend sense.

His push for the Gamers title got here crashing down over a heartbreaking last spherical of four-over — however the groundwork for his ascent had already been laid.

Contending deep on the prestigious occasion, whereas making a trend assertion, gave Lee a platform to mix his golf expertise together with his social media savvy to forge a singular model.

In the present day, that model will be boiled down to only three phrases:

“Let him prepare dinner”.

The Child Boomers amongst us, probably proper all the way down to Millennials, could be left scratching their heads on the Gen Z-ism, however it’s a part of what’s made Lee such scorching property in 2023.

Lee has been having fun with a breakout 12 months on the PGA Tour, and it’s these three phrases which have adopted him each step of the best way, both on social media, or in publish tee-off screams from the gallery.

At its core, “let him prepare dinner” merely means to let somebody do their factor, in their very own means and in their very own time.

As for why it holds better that means for Lee; Not everybody on the PGA Tour is a younger breakout star rocking a mock turtleneck, mullet, skinny moustache and Oakleys, all whereas crushing bombs over 340 metres.

On the Vacationers Championship final month, Lee’s ball velocity for a whopping 342-metre drive was clocked at 193m/ph (310km/h).

Callaway Golf referred to as it the “most informal 193m/ph ball velocity in human historical past”.

Lee merely posted the footage and stated: “LET HIM COOK”. So did many followers within the feedback, together with others anointing the star as ‘Him Woo Lee’.

Cameron Smith, Adam Scott and Jason Day have lengthy been probably the most notable, and influential Australians on the PGA Tour, however not anymore.

Is there anybody on the circuit “cooking” greater than Lee proper now?

The Australian suffered a Gamers Championship hangover by lacking three-consecutive cuts, however Could’s PGA Championship supplied the spark to renew a climb he’s nonetheless having fun with.

Lee completed contained in the top-20 at Oak Hill and earnt himself particular momentary membership on the PGA Tour for the season’s the rest.

One month later, he completed contained in the top-five at a significant for the primary time after an impressive US Open marketing campaign at Los Angeles Nation Membership, the place he hit the largest drive of the match at 372 metres (407 yards).

His most up-to-date consequence was one other top-10 end on the Vacationers, taking his season earnings as much as $2,311,796 (A$3.46m).

Lee is now commonly contending with the perfect gamers in males’s golf, and but, the outcomes solely converse to half of his unimaginable rise.

That CBS selected to mic-up Lee in the course of the third spherical of the Vacationers for its new ‘walk-and-talks’ says all of it about how in-demand he instantly finds himself Stateside.

His reputation with younger followers, and robust social media presence, additionally has him on the verge of changing into some kind of cultural phenomenon within the golf world.

It’s telling that previous to this week’s Scottish Open, Lee didn’t have a wide-ranging interview with Golf Digest or Golf.com, however as an alternative with Hypebeast — a life-style model whose tagline is ‘Driving Tradition Ahead’.

“You understand, a whole lot of the youthful persons are screaming my identify and all these slogans at me once I’m out on the golf course. And I undoubtedly suppose it makes a distinction. I’ve at all times had an enormous social media presence,” he instructed the model.

“I simply love doing social media and making an attempt to make it enjoyable. I don’t have a social media supervisor or something like that. I simply do it myself and attempt to make it enjoyable for everybody who follows me.”

Hypebeast labelled Lee because the ‘Professional Golfer of the Future’ — and it’s laborious to argue with.

Above all, Lee is making the world of being knowledgeable golfer look enjoyable.

His days aren’t merely spent analysing Trackman information, though, be certain there’s in all probability loads of that taking place too.

However there’s widespread participating with followers, posting memes, and even time for a beer.

Final week, he was sitting with the punters at Headingley, sipping the froth off a recent pour whereas cheering the Australians on the Ashes.

Lee stated he’s been in contact with plenty of golf followers throughout the Australian Check workforce for months now, which he described to Fox Sports activities Information as a “fairly cool feeling”.

Maybe not as “cool”, nevertheless, as making associates with NBA megastar Steph Curry, who’s now amongst his rising legion of followers.

Lee, a large Golden State Warriors fan, revealed he had Curry observe him not too long ago, and the pair made a dedication to play collectively.

“Steph Curry adopted me like two weeks in the past. I watch him each sport that I can,” Lee instructed Fox Sports activities Information.

“I messaged him and stated ‘I’m an enormous fan’ and he stated ‘hit me up whenever you’re close to San Francisco within the Bay Space’.

“I used to be fairly stoked with that.”

BUILT FOR THE BIG STAGE

Naturally, there comes a time to lock-in. The outcomes inform us Lee does that fairly properly, too.

Two years in the past, a 22-year-old Lee shocked the most effective fields in golf when he received the 2021 Scottish Open for his first skilled win exterior of Australia.

He received in a playoff that included Matt Fitzpatrick, who would win the US Open a 12 months later, whereas the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Xander Schuaffele, Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Collin Morikawa have been all bested.

The victory helped open extra doorways for Lee who has since performed each main of the previous two years, and has featured extra commonly on the PGA Tour, the place he seems destined to earn his card transferring ahead.

Lee as soon as once more confirmed his penchant for the large event by coming T14 in his Masters debut in 2022, which included a record-tying 30-shot entrance 9 within the last spherical.

The rest of 2022 was quiet for Lee, however 2023 has confirmed to be his true breakout 12 months.

He has as soon as once more wasted little kind on smaller occasions, saving his finest work for the largest tournaments within the majors and the Gamers Championship. Solely at this 12 months’s Masters has he failed ship after two rounds of 75 noticed him miss the weekend.

Nonetheless, after making four-consecutive cuts, together with excessive finishes on the PGA Championship and US Open, you’ll see Lee’s identify in the direction of the low finish of the percentages this month within the UK.

For this week’s Scottish Open, Lee is the bookies’ thirteenth favorite to win in a subject of 156 gamers.

No countryman is rated higher amongst an Australian contingent that features Scott, Cameron Davis and Lucas Herbert.

The Scottish Open will give method to the Open Championship per week later at Royal Liverpool the place Lee will as soon as once more discover it tougher to slide beneath the radar, particularly in a mock turtleneck.

Lee stated he’s feeling the perfect he ever has heading into a significant match, as he goals to turn out to be Australia’s sixth male Open champion after Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Smith.

“It’s fairly good to have a superb state of mind going into tournaments whenever you’re assured and feeling good,” he stated. “Placing and chipping has been actually stable over the past two years.

“Hopefully the strategy play can activate and it will likely be a enjoyable week.”

Smith will lead the Australian contingent as soon as extra whereas Day has, in the best circumstances, recaptured a few of his finest kind this 12 months.

However Lee has quickly risen to a degree the place his identify now deserves to a minimum of be uttered in the identical dialog as Australia’s largest male golf stars.

Not that Lee goes to be hung up on how he’s rated in comparison with his fellow Aussies anyway, so long as his predominant rule is being adopted.

“I’m only a child that wishes to be a fantastic participant and a fantastic golfer. So simply let him prepare dinner and let him do his factor,” he stated.