Min Woo Lee fell one stroke short in a bid for his first PGA Tour win at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic after an amazing back nine in Sunday’s final round at Detroit Golf Club, but he undoubtedly made some more fans along the way.
Lee, already a favorite on social media, started the day three shots back of the leaders and entered the par-5 No. 7 hole sitting at 1 under par on his round, after a birdie on the third hole. After a chip onto the green with a chance for par, Lee three-putted from just outside 6 feet, which led to a double-bogey 7.
It looked like his tournament chances were finished.
But Lee, a three-time winner on the European Tour, quickly bounced back, chipping in for birdie on the eighth hole to jumpstart a sizzling finish for the 25-year-old Australian, affectionately known as “the chef.”
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Lee birdied No. 10 to kick off his back nine, then found birdies on Nos. 14, 15 — another chip-in from the fringe and big fist pump — and 17 to tie for the lead with Akshay Bhatia at 18 under par, leading into the final hole. The crowd cheered “Woooooo,” and “Let him cook,” as Lee battled back into contention, and the crowd following him and amateur Luke Clanton became noticeably bigger by the 16th hole.
“One of the loudest roars in my life,” Lee tweeted with a clip of his chip on No. 15. “We will keep knocking on that door. Thank you @RocketClassic and Detroit, the support was unbelievable. Tied 2nd. Lets keep the stove on for the European summer. 🤝🧑🍳🧡”
One of the loudest roars in my life. We will keep knocking on that door. Thank you @RocketClassic and Detroit, the support was unbelievable. Tied 2nd. Lets keep the stove on for the European summer. 🤝🧑🍳🧡 pic.twitter.com/65tbHtfmHT
— Min Woo Lee (@Minwoo27Lee) July 1, 2024
The “Let him cook” saying comes from a meme, but in an interview last year with Golf Digest, Lee explained why he likes the saying.
“It’s a gaming term,” Lee said. You’re playing COD (Call of Duty) in a 5 vs. 5-person game and one person is left. If someone’s in the background telling him what to do, someone else says, ‘No, just let him cook. Let him do his thing.'”
Lee hit a 286-yard 3-wood to the middle of the fairway on the par-4 18th, but approach shot sailed the green into thick rough, 32 feet behind the hole. “I hit it so good,” he bemoaned to his caddie after the shot. His chip rolled past the the hole and slid into he rough, placing him 46 feet away for par.
His chip to stay in a tie for the lead came up 14 inches short, leaving Lee one stroke shy of a playoff.
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Lee, whose older sister, Minjee, is a two-time major winner, finished the tournament shooting 3-under 69 on Sunday, and 17-under 271 on the tournament, placing him in a four-way tie for second and earning him $616,400.
Cam Davis won the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 18 under, after Bhatia bogeyed the 72nd hole with a three-putt.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Min Woo Lee sizzles at Rocket Mortgage Classic, then falls just short
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