Min Woo Lee hangs on for first PGA win at Houston Open

Australia’s Min Woo Lee was in the unusual position of being chased during the closing stretch of a PGA Tour event.

But he figured it out with a dazzling par on the final hole of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, holding off a collection of hard-charging pursuers and winning on the tour for the first time on Sunday at Memorial Park Golf Course.

“This was my first time being in front trying to hold a lead,” Lee said. “I’m glad I got it done.”

Lee shot a final-round 3-under-par 67, using a magnificent putt from off the green on the final hole that led to a tap-in par. His 20-under 260 was good enough, as World No 1 Scottie Scheffler (63) and Gary Woodland (62) finished a stroke back.

Lee was in the last group, and his tee shot on No 18 went into the rough. His approach left him off the green before he delivered in a big moment.

The 26-year-old began the day with a four-shot lead, but it was far from a comfortable round.

“I’m very exhausted,” Lee said. “It was a lot of mental grind. I’m so proud of how I handled myself.”

Scheffler had four consecutive birdies on Nos 13-16 before finishing with back-to-back pars in his bogey-free round.

“It’s hard. It’s really hard,” Lee said. “ Scottie is a wonderful golfer, and it keeps you on your toes.”

Woodland played the first 10 holes in 5 under, but he seemed to have his momentum squashed with a bogey on the par-3 No 13. But his birdie on the 15th and an eagle on the next hole put him back on track, and he wrapped up the round with a birdie. He had to wait for Scheffler and Lee to finish to learn his fate.

But Lee had just enough in his 56th career start in a PGA Tour event.

Lee’s main blunder came off the tee on the par-5 16th hole, with his shot going into the water. It resulted in his only bogey of the round.

“I played unbelievable up until that bogey,” he said.

Scheffler said he needed a better start to the round, though he went on a tear on the backside. It just wasn’t enough.

“[Lee] played some really good golf,” Scheffler said. “I think he made one mistake on 16, but he did some really good stuff out there, and he just went out and beat us this week.”

Finland’s Sami Valimaki (62) finished fourth at 17 under, followed by Wyndham Clark (64), Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (64), Canadian Taylor Pendrith (65) and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti (68) at 15 under.

It was a nice tune-up for many golfers with the Masters coming up in April.

“The last three days were really good,” McIlroy said. “Saw some putts go in. I felt as I went on through the week I got better and better.”

Scheffler hasn’t won yet this year and is the defending Masters champion.

Woodland, a four-time winner on the tour, was seeking his first victory since the 2019 US Open.

Woodland moved into second place by going 4 under through eight holes, trailing Lee by four shots. Woodland closed within two shots through 10 holes on the way to his lowest 18-hole score on tour since 2018.

Michael Kim tied for 32nd at 8 under, clinching a spot in the Masters by moving into the world’s top 50. He had a final-round 69.

Half of the field teed off on the 10th hole, so there were some fast-changing sequences on the leader board.

Field Level Media