Min Woo Lee hasn’t only emerged as one of the PGA Tour’s most consistent players, but also one of its most powerful players.
On day two of the US Open in Los Angeles, Lee averaged 364 yards off the tee and he is ranked 24th in longest drives on the tour. You can often find extremely satisfying shot tracer clips of his tee shots on social media.
The Australian might not resemble the muscular frame of Brooks Koepka or Dustin Johnson, but his ability to crunch the ball has caught the eye, and has helped him break into the world’s top 50 and reach the cusp of a permanent PGA Tour card.
But when asked about the possibility of golf ball roll back and the threat distance poses to some golf courses, with reference to Rory McIlroy’s comments on the Travelers Championship, Lee downplayed the value of power in the game.
“I talk to Ian Baker-Finch and Trevor Immelman, and they used to hit driver on most holes back in the day, and now for us, it’s a 2 iron or a 3 wood,” Lee told NCG at The Belfry. “There are definitely fewer drivers, but that’s with pretty much every course.
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“I still enjoy it. You still want to hit the fairway and you still want to make birdies, so I still hit a few drivers and there were holes you still had to pay attention to (at TPC River Highlands).
“I don’t really care what happens (with golf ball roll back), but I don’t have a problem with where it’s at right now.
“I hit the ball far, but I don’t win every week. With every other sport, if you’re bigger and stronger, you’re probably going to be better than other people, but the thing with golf, it doesn’t matter how far you hit it – you can still compete.
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“That’s why most of us aren’t NBA players, we’re not genetically like that – big and strong. I don’t have a problem with it. There are courses that are meant to be played a different way, but I’m fine with where we’re at.”
Lee, 24, earned Special Temporary Membership on the tour after finishing inside the top 20 at the PGA Championship, with his fellow Aussie Ryan Fox also earning this status too.
With top-10 finishes at the Players Championship, the US Open, and the Travelers Championship, Lee is on course to earn the required points to officially secure the US card he’s longed for.
