Min Woo Lee shared his disappointment with his performances in the PGA Tour’s biggest tournaments this year, marking himself as “whatever the lowest grade is”.
Speaking to Australian media to announce he will play the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in November, Lee slammed his own efforts in the signature events that boast a US$20 million (A$30.7m) prize purse.
The 27-year-old’s season ended at the FedEx St Jude Championship, the first event of the PGA Tour’s three-week long FedEx Cup playoffs, as part of a disappointing showing by the Australian contingent this season.
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With Jason Day failing to play his way into the top 30 in the season-long standings at last week’s BMW Championship, no Australian will tee it up in this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake in Georgia.
It is the first time since 1998 that Australia will not be represented in the PGA Tour’s season finale.
PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND – JULY 18: Min Woo Lee of Australia acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day two of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 18, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Lee was the second best of the Australians this season, finishing 57th in the standings.
But he started the first event of the playoffs on the bubble in 50th place, and failed to progress after finishing in a share of last place.
Despite the season ending in disappointment, Lee registered his first PGA Tour victory by holding off world No.1 Scottie Scheffler at the Houston Open in the lead-up to The Masters.
That feat bumped up his overall assessment of his season.
“A+ for the win. It’s something that I have always wanted to do since I was a little kid,” Lee said when asked to grade his year.
“And then signature events, probably whatever the lowest grade is.
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 12: Min Woo Lee of Australia reacts on the fourth tee during the third round of the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2025 in Augusta, Georgia. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Harry How / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
“It wasn’t a very good year in the signature events. I wish I’d played a little bit better.
“Tried to notch that top 50, but it is what it is. It’s not a massive deal.
“I can still get into those events next year.”
“Probably like a B (overall),” Lee continued.
“It was a very successful year security-wise.
“I’ve got another two and a half years on the PGA Tour and that’s pretty awesome.
“We obviously want to be at the Tour Championship in the near future.
“So, that’s going to be the goal next year.”
Lee turns attention to Masters after win | 02:28
Lee missed the cut in the last three majors, and came 49th at The Masters.
His best finish in a signature event was tied 17th at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.
His next best result in those elevated events was 48th at The Genesis Invitational two weeks later.
The poor results in the tougher tests served as a steep learning curve for Lee.
His win in Houston came at Memorial Park, a public golf course that was transformed into a PGA Tour venue, where the rough is not overly punishing and it can encourage long bombers to tee it high and let it fly with little consequence.
Lee realised that the signature events lend themselves to a more accurate style of golf, and he may have to go “backwards” in one aspect of his game to improve his results.
“The signature events were (played at) courses that I kind of figured out later on that they were a very robotic kind of golf,” he said.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – AUGUST 07: Min Woo Lee of Australia watches a tee shot on the seventh hole during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2025 at TPC Southwind on August 07, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee. Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by ANDY LYONS / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
“A lot of fairways, a lot of greens and very accurate.
“Which is something that I obviously struggle on.
“I hit it long and I’m a bit fiery and wayward but I can still recover from there.
“But when the rough is that thick, you can’t really miss fairways and if you do, you just have to hack it out.
“Which is a major-type course.
“In a way, learning from that, you want to become very accurate and you want to be a robotic golfer, which kind of sucks in my golf because I’m not that type of a person and not that type of golfer.
“So, learning from that, they were saying lower my speed to try get a little more accurate, which is kind of backwards.”
The West Australian is currently back home in Australia, enjoying time on the Gold Coast with partner Gracie before returning to action at the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship and the French Open next month.
Watching Gracie’s sister play in the QAFLW for the Southport Sharks before sticking around for the VFL game is a far cry from life in the United States.
Lee is a social media sensation courtesy of his golfing wizardry and his fun-loving personality, and his content led to a friendship with pop star Justin Bieber.
Last month, Lee attended Bieber’s golf-themed party to announce his new album.
The pair message one another somewhat frequently with Bieber even sending videos of his golf swing to ask Lee for tips.
But attending the party came slightly out of the blue, as it was happening in Los Angeles, while Lee was in his US home of Las Vegas.
“It was a spontaneous text,” Lee recalled.
“I was with my mate, Zach, and Gracie and we were in Vegas and LA’s only an hour flight.
“We said we probably we have to go. We probably should go.
“It was a very cool moment.
“Got to meet a couple of other celebs, and be around them, and have a golf theme party, and listen to his music too, it’s very good.”
Two years ago when Lee went viral for a miraculous chip-in eagle on the ninth hole at Royal Queensland on his way to winning his maiden Australian PGA Championship, rubbing shoulders with celebrities would have been just about unthinkable.
Lee was already plying his trade in the US and had attracted a cult following, but it was the highlight reel from the venue that will host the golf competition in the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games that helped his reputation grow.
A key feature of it was his interaction with an adoring crowd, many of whom wore chef hats in reference to his ‘let him cook’ moniker on his Instagram and TikTok accounts.
It has become a trend around the world since, and reflecting on his journey to hanging out with celebrities, Lee said he is “speechless of it”.
“I’m just me and JB is one of the biggest artists in the world,” he added.
Lee is yet to commit to take on the likes of Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott at the Australian Open in December.