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 participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said