Min Woo Lee yesterday started celebrating his first Australian PGA Championship title on the next-to-last hole when he put on a chef’s hat and did a synchronized clap along with the boisterous crowd before jogging off to the 18th.
He narrowly missed par on the last hole, but still closed with a three-under 68 to finish 20 under for the tournament and a three-shot win over Japan’s Riyuka Hoshino, who also closed with 68.
Lee, who is ranked No. 45 and comes from Western Australia, has made “let him cook” his popular catch phrase.
Photo: EPA-EFE
With a four-shot lead going into the final hole, he put on a chef’s hat and clapped his hands above his head in time with the crowd at the 17th, the so-called Party Hole at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
He also brought the crowd alive with a long chip for an eagle at the par-five ninth.
“The best atmosphere shot I’ve ever hit,” Lee said. “That one, at that point, it was getting close. I was in a pretty average position. To chip that in — it was amazing. It’s one of the best shots I’ve probably hit.”
Lee had a wire-to-wire win in the Asian Tour’s Macau Open last month for his first victory since 2021, and added this one quickly on home soil. It was his fourth career title, and his third DP World Title.
“I’ve always thought I could win, but it took a while to get over the hump,” he said. “Two wins in the last month or so ... really proud of it.”
He was targeting a victory on the European tour last year, and while he did not achieve it in the season that ended last week, he still made it within the calendar year that also included a tie for fifth at the US Open.
Lee is next week to play in the Australian Open that has a joint tournament format to feature men’s and women’s fields. His sister, two-time major winner Minjee Lee, would also be playing in Sydney.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS