Min Woo Lee holds off Scheffler and
Woodland to win Houston Open for first PGA Tour title
[March 31, 2025]
HOUSTON (AP) — Min Woo Lee kept his calm amid tremendous
charges by Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland, winning the Houston
Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title with the best lag of his
life that set up a final par for a one-shot victory.
Lee bent over and repeatedly clutched his fists when his 55-foot
putt settled inches from the cup on the 18th hole, leaving him a
tap-in par for a 3-under 67. He finished at 20-under 260, breaking
the tournament record by four shots.
“It's hard — it's really hard,” Lee said. “Obviously, Scottie is a
wonderful golfer and he keeps you on your toes. The first time being
in front, I'm glad I got it done. I'm very exhausted. It was a lot
of mental grind. I'm so proud of how I handled myself.”
Every shot mattered after Lee made one bad swing to make what looked
like a Sunday stroll turn very stressful. He led by five shots on
the back nine until Woodland, who played his last four holes in
4-under par to tie the Memorial Park course record with a 62, made
his charge.
Scheffler, in his final start before defending his Masters title,
ran off four straight birdies to get within one shot until his
7-iron on the 18th hole came up some 25 yards short of the pin. He
chipped to a few feet for par and a 63.
Lee was still in control until he sliced his tee shot on the par-5
16th into the water, having to hit his third from the tee and doing
well to two-putt from 40 feet for bogey. That ended 41 consecutive
holes without a bogey, and dropped his lead to one shot with two to
play.
Lee missed well to the left on the 18th — not an issue because
Memorial Park has minimal rough — and his approach went just over
the back of the green. He chose to putt instead of chip, and it
worked out to near perfection.
Woodland was on the range, watching on his phone. It was his best
finish since he had brain surgery to remove a tumor in September
2023. This is final year of his exemption from winning the 2019 U.S.
Open at Pebble Beach, and the runner-up finish will serve him well.
Scheffler was in the scoring area watching Lee clinch the victory.
He looked over at his caddie and laughed. He closed with a 63 and
couldn't have done much more.
“Just trying to put as much pressure on Min Woo as I could have,”
Scheffler said. “I was hoping to be able to do that on the front
nine. I wasn’t able to get off to a good enough start. And he played
some really good golf. I think he made one mistake on 16, but I
think he did some really good stuff out there and he just went out
and beat us this week.”
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Min Woo Lee, of Australia, holds the championship trophy after
winning the Houston Open golf tournament in Houston, Sunday, March
30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The 26-year-old Lee, whose older sister Minjee Lee
is a major champion on the LPGA Tour, had won three times on the
European tour and once on the Asian Tour. He became the fifth player
this year to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.
Sami Valimaki of Finland also tied the tournament record of 62 and
finished fourth.
Rory McIlroy shot 64, with bogeys at the start and finish of his
final round before the Masters. He tied for fifth and was headed
home to get the final touches on his game before going to Augusta
National to try to complete the career Grand Slam.
The other battle on the course was between Michael Kim and Ben
Griffin, both trying to move inside the top 50 in the world ranking
and earn a spot in the Masters. Kim made a 6-foot par putt on his
last hole for a 69 to tie for 32nd, allowing him to move to No. 50
by the slimmest or margins over Griffin. The difference in their
two-year average points was 0.2.
Lee already was in the Masters from being in the top 50 at the end
of last year. Now he has a PGA Tour title, setting him up for the
rest of the $20 million signature events this year.
“Everyone out here knows how talented the kid is. He’s an absolute
stud,” Woodland said. “We all know once you break through for him
sky’s the limit, so really happy for him. For me, it was great just
to get those juices flowing again, just to see some results.”
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