Weekly PGA Recap: Min Woo Comes Through

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

Min Woo Lee is a very aggressive player. He pounds the ball off the tee. If you play him, you see some incredible shots and the good times are fun. But then there are other times and you might cover your eyes and wince.

At the Houston Open, Lee was under control like he had rarely been before. It was enough to withstand some dicey Lee-like moments down the stretch on Sunday to hold off Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland by one stroke for his first PGA Tour title.

Lee set a tournament record at 20-under at Memorial Park, the latest instance this year of a traditionally tight PGA Tour track getting manhandled. Memorial Park is a great tuneup for the Masters, with many similarities to Augusta, and Lee has played well there in the past.

But we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. More Masters in a bit.

The dashing 26-year-old Australian ranked fifth in the Houston field in driving distance but also 64th in accuracy. Holding a three-stroke lead with three holes to play, while Scheffler was birdieing four holes in a row to turn the pressure on, Lee inexplicably plunked one in the water on the par-5 16th hole. He did well to escape with a bogey.

On 18, the lead down to one, he drove into the rough. He then flew the green with his approach, 50-plus feet behind the pin. Needing to get up and down to avoid a playoff, he putted from off the green to eight inches for a tap-in victory.

Phew!

"I pushed the drive in the water," Lee said. " …Yeah, I saw the leaderboard between 17 and 18 -- sorry, 16 and 17 – and I saw Scottie, he obviously made birdie in front of me.

"I thought, hit a good shot and two-putt, and you can make two good pars. I saw him make par on 17, and 18's a very tough hole so I thought two pars will do it. But I was freaking out inside if you wanted to know, it looked like I was cool, but I didn't want him to make birdie."

This was Lee's fifth worldwide win, the most notable being the 2023 Australian PGA. He has had two runners-up on the PGA Tour, including just last month at the Cognizant. Lee moved to a career-best 22nd in the world rankings.

He is the younger brother of Minjee Lee, winner of 10 LPGA tournaments, including two majors. They are the third brother-sister duo to win on the PGA and LPGA Tours.

Lee has not had the success of his sister. But he has done pretty well in the majors, which is important to note with the Masters less than two weeks away. He has six top-25s in 13 career majors, two of them at Augusta, including last year's T22. His best there was T14.

Maybe this win shows that Lee is toning down his aggressive game. Then again, maybe not, as this eye-popping stat would suggest.

Twenty-two fairways might be able to cut it at Memorial Park. But not at Augusta or many other courses. Lee knows that.

It's fun to hit it a ton off the tee. But as Lee now knows, it's more fun to win.

Advised that he is now up to 16th in the FedExCup Standings, Lee said: "Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, I've been playing a lot of good golf. To get closer to the final Top 30, that will be -- that's one of the goals that I had in mind.

"Winning a tournament was one of those goals and I'm happy to check that off. It was tough. I mean, props to the guys that win week in, week out. I mean, it is very hard even though a four-shot lead is not safe, it is tough. Again, just so proud. Yeah, let's keep doing it."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Scottie Scheffler
Sure, it's now 0-for-6 for Scheffler in 2025. But there isn't a person on the planet who would dismiss his chances at the Masters in two weeks. He ranked sixth in the Houston field in Strokes Gained: Putting, which should strike fear in the other golfers. Memorial Park has always been a great track for Scheffler -- this is his third runner-up. At Augusta, he will be going for his third green jacket.

Gary Woodland
In the roughly 18 months since Woodland underwent brain surgery, you could see the progression in his game. He had some very good weeks to start 2025. This week, however, was his best yet. Woodland closed with a course-record-tying 62 to climb up the leaderboard. This shared runner-up was the best finish for Woodland across those 18 months. He will not be in the Masters, but he will have a fantasy impact the rest of this season.

Sami Valimaki
Valimai also matched the course record with a 62 on Sunday for a solo fourth. He came over from the DP World Tour last year, played well enough to keep his card and now this result will go a long way toward bringing him back in 2026. He's been great at making cuts – 6 of 8 this season – but this was only his second top-25.

Rory McIlroy
The big takeaway after McIlroy zoomed up the leaderboard on Sunday to tie for fifth was that he said he's been experiencing an elbow issue. It didn't seem to bother him in Houston, but of course it will be a huge story in the leadup to Augusta. Other than the elbow, McIlroy did nothing to quiet the narrative that this could finally be his year to win the Masters.

Wyndham Clark
This was a great sign for Clark, tying for fifth on a track with similarities to the Masters, after a very meh start to 2025. He's had three top-25s, but no top-10s, and his best result all year came in Week 1 at the Sentry. Clark also withdrew from THE PLAYERS citing a neck injury, but he seems fine now.

Taylor Pendrith
Pendrith needed something good heading into the Masters, and this tie for fifth should do the trick. He had had two missed cuts and two other poor finishes in his prior four starts. He shot three rounds of 65 in Houston and finished in the top-10 in the field in both SG: Off-the-Tee and Putting.

Alejandro Tosti
Note to self: Tosti plays well at the Houston Open. He tied for fifth, his best result since his shared runner-up there last year. Tosti absolutely bombs the ball off the tee and, with the wide fairways of Memorial Park, you can get away with it there. He has one other top-10 this season, in Mexico, but also has missed five cuts.

Ryan Gerard
Gerard had a run of three straight top-25s earlier this season. Now, with this solo ninth, he reached his highest world ranking – 143rd. He's missed only one cut in nine starts. Gerard is a Korn Ferry grad who is now 64th in the FedEx Cup standings, meaning he would be back next year and in the playoffs.

Mackenzie Hughes
Hughes doesn't have the length that a lot of the players above him on the leaderboard have. Instead, he plays Memorial Park very well thanks to his excellent wedge play. The Canadian ranked sixth in the field in SG: Around-the-Green to tie for 10th. Hughes has finished top-16 or better in four of the years the Houston Open has been played at Memorial Park.

Ben Griffin
Griffin was furiously trying to qualify for the Masters at almost the last possible moment. He needed to get into the top-50 in the world rankings. He began the week at 53rd. On Sunday, he closed with a 65, including a final-hole birdie. It was not enough. Griffin missed by an eyelash, moving up to 51st OWGR. He was edged out by this next guy.

Michael Kim
Kim was probably running on fumes. This was his eighth straight week of playing. But the Masters was at stake. He tied for 32nd and it was just enough to move him to 50th in the world rankings. Back in January, Kim was ranked 162nd. This has been the best stretch of golf in his career. He'll now take a much-needed week off before heading to Augusta.

Tony Finau
Finau has had a quiet 2025 and this week didn't do anything to change it. He tied for 32nd. He does have one top-10 this season. But he also missed the cut at THE PLAYERS and you have to wonder how he'll do at the Masters.

Rickie Fowler
Fowler tied for 52nd. He still is not in the Masters. So he is heading to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open. The only way to get into the Masters at this point is to win the Valero.

Sungjae Im
Im opened 2025 with two top-5s and a top-10 in the first four weeks. Since then, he's been a different golfer, and not in a  good way. He tied for 60th in Houston, virtually matching his result at THE PLAYERS (T61). He's done well at the Masters through the years. But it's hard to find your game at Augusta.

Sahith Theegala
In 10 starts in 2025, Theegala has zero top-10s. He has one top-25. He tied for 67th at Houston in what continues to be a terrible season.

MISSED CUTS

J.J. Spaun, Alex Smalley, Si Woo Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard, Aaron Rai. Spaun and Smalley have been two of the best players on Tour in 2025. Spaun got into the Masters even with this missed cut. … Kim has not qualified for the Masters, one of the top players not in. … Rai was one of the big favorites this week.