Feeling "kind of burnt out" after so many Signature events on the PGA Tour, Min Woo Lee skipped the Scottish Open for tennis at Wimbledon and to play golf with mates in Ireland. And heading into the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush, he says he's happy and fresh - and ready to unleash a weapon off the tee.
Like many Australians, Min Woo Lee spent Sunday watching The Amundi Evian Championship to see if sibling, Minjee, could win a second consecutive major championship before turning his attention to Grace Kim's stunning victory.
Supporting his sister is hardly new for the younger Lee, however, in previous years such an opportunity wouldn’t have been possible with Min Woo a regular at, and past champion of, the Genesis Scottish Open, the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR co-sanctioned traditional warm up for The Open.
Lee watched Kim triumph before heading out on course at Royal Portrush late Sunday with fellow West Australians Ryan Peake and Curtis Luck. He chose to skip Scotland after a busy year in which he claimed a maiden PGA TOUR win and experienced mixed form.
“I just played a lot of golf and I think talking to a few people, some people take it off and we were just trying to do something different this year,” Lee told Australian media of the Scottish Open decision on Tuesday in Northern Ireland.
"Obviously it's very weather dependent here in either Scotland or Ireland, so we wanted to be fresh coming into this week and I had a great week leading up to this tournament, played a lot of courses and also went to a couple of events.
“It is a funny one because I have won there and I do love the course, but I've been playing a lot and I felt really burnt out kind of playing the Signature events where they were very tough courses.”
Lee took the chance of a week off to attend Wimbledon and the Formula 1, before heading to Ireland with his team, including Australian amateur Zach Capelli, a fellow West Australian and regular playing partner at home who is acting as a partial cure for occasional pangs of homesickness.
“I think just having him is great. I want to go back home, but when I'm at home, he's with me, not 24/7, but really close to that,” Lee said of Capelli, a budding professional himself.
“It's good to have a piece of home; come over here on the other side of the world and just be there. When I'm with him, I laugh way more than usual and that's just something that I've not had over the last couple months, especially playing tough golf.”
Beyond the presence of a friendly face and inspiration of another women’s major win, another advantage for Lee this week will be his caddie, Bo Martin, who helped guide the 27-year-old to his first win on the game’s biggest Tour.
Clearly an asset since picking up Lee’s bag, Martin’s value will rise to another level this week at Portrush, where he was the bagman for Shane Lowry’s Open triumph in 2019.
With practice interrupted on Monday due to lightning in the area, the combination of arriving early and the experience of his caddie have Lee well placed for the first round Thursday when he goes out alongside Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley.
“Obviously we've only played once or twice here, so just getting familiar with the course, but he knows every in and out really,” Lee said of Martin.
“He says, 'Don't go here, don't go there.' It's just having that trust and having the freedom I guess. I think it is just nice to have that sense of knowing. I guess you can say we're one or two days ahead of other people.”
Whether Lee can follow Martin’s advice will of course determine his success, however the almost ever-present wind and course layout have the 27-year-old believing he holds another advantage in the final men’s major of the year.
“I think it's pretty demanding off the tee. You need to think your way around, so not too many drivers,” he said of Royal Portrush which hosts The Open for a third time this week.
“I played the back nine and I probably only hit one or two drivers, so a lot of irons off the tees, which is quite nice. I like that. I like my 2-iron and I think it's going to be a weapon this week."
All four rounds of The 153rd Open Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo. Round 1 coverage begins at 3:30pm Thursday AEST.
The 153rd Open Championship
Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland
Recent champion: Xander Schauffele
Past Aussie winners: Peter Thomson (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965), Kel Nagle (1960), Greg Norman (1986, 1993), Ian Baker-Finch (1991), Cameron Smith (2022).
Prize money: US$17 million
TV times: Live Thursday and Friday 3:30pm-5:30am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Saturday 7pm-11:15pm Fox Sports 505 and Kayo. Saturday 11pm-5am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Sunday 6pm-4am Fox Sports 503 and Kayo.
Australasians in the field
Jason Day
Major wins: 1
Previous appearances: 12
Best finish: T2 (2023)
2024 result: T13
Best result in 2025: T3, The American Express, PGA TOUR
Ryan Fox (NZ)
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 8
Best finish: T16 (2019)
2024 result: T25
Best result in 2025: Win, RBC Canadian Open, PGA TOUR
Lucas Herbert
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 4
Best finish: T15 (2022)
2024 result: DNP
Best result in 2025: Win, International Series Japan, Asian Tour
Daniel Hillier (NZ)
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 3
Best finish: T19 (2024)
2024 result: T19
Best result in 2025: 2, Hero Dubai Desert Classic, DP World Tour
Min Woo Lee
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 4
Best finish: T21 (2022)
2024 result: MC
Best result in 2025: Win, Texas Children's Houston Open, PGA TOUR
Marc Leishman
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 11
Best finish: T2 (2015)
2024 result: DNP
Best result in 2025: Win, LIV Golf Miami, LIV Golf League
Curtis Luck
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 0
Best finish: N/A
2024 result: DNP
Best result in 2025: T3, The National Tournament, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia
Ryan Peake
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 0
Best finish: N/A
2024 result: DNP
Best result in 2025: Win, New Zealand Open, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia/Asian Tour
Adam Scott
Major wins: 1
Previous appearances: 24
Best finish: 2 (2012)
2024 result: T10
Best result in 2025: T12, US Open
Cameron Smith
Major wins: 1
Previous appearances: 7
Best finish: Win (2022)
2024 result: MC
Best result in 2025: T5, LIV Golf Mexico City, LIV Golf League
Elvis Smylie
Major wins: 0
Previous appearances: 1
Best finish: MC (2024)
2024 result: MC
Best result in 2025: T8, New Zealand Open, Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia/Asian Tour
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