Images of Min Woo Lee doing the ‘thunderclap’ celebration in a chef’s hat on the party hole 17th during the final round of the Australian PGA Championship, before he went on to win the event, did the rounds on social media during the week.
The chef’s hat is a homage to the West Australian’s mantra on social media: “Let him cook.”
The 25-year-old has undoubtedly been the star of the DP World Tour’s Australian leg. In great form off the back of a wire-to-wire win at the Macau Open in October, Lee took the Royal Queensland Golf Club by storm.
The galleries, rows deep, followed Lee around the course, watching him shoot four consecutive rounds in the 60s to take the Australian PGA title by three strokes over Rikuya Hoshino.
At last week’s Australian Open, shared between The Lakes Golf Club and The Australian Golf Club, he once again outshone 2022 British Open Champion Cameron Smith, and 2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott, two of Australia’s greatest-ever golfers.
Min Woo Lee during the Australian Open. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Lee now has seven top-15 finishes from his last eight starts, including two wins, to go with his top-five finish at the US Open in June this year and is highly regarded as one of the most in-form golfers in the world.
However, it is off the course is where Min Woo Lee has seen his most meteoric rise. Spectators at the course and on TV over the last two weeks would have no doubt heard punters supporting Lee by yelling “Let Him Cook,” a popular social-media-born phrase that Lee has adopted across his social media platforms since the Players Championship.
TikTok and Instagram edits of Lee bombing drives, posted on his Instagram and TikTok accounts go viral regularly, as well as videos of him holing out from off the green or in bunkers, where in the captions he will call himself “Dr. Chipinski” – another phrase made popular by Lee’s playful social media antics.
On top of this, Lee frequently collaborates with golf’s biggest YouTube channels, such as ‘Good Good’ and Rick Shiels, further enhancing his online presence and allure towards young golf fans across the world.
All of this before mentioning the young gun’s incredibly attractive style of play.
Over the course of the 2023 season, Min Woo Lee averaged a whopping 316 yards off the tee on the DP World Tour, nearly 20 yards further than the tour average. In tandem with a creative short game and aggressive iron play, Lee has become one of the most entertaining golfers to watch on tour.
On the final day of the Australian Open, a commentator told the viewers that he overheard children he estimated to be as young as 12, saying: “We need to get to the 8th hole so we can watch Min Woo hit a driver.”
The crowds, especially kids, love him. Prominent figures are taking notice too.
The TGL, a semi-virtual league venture formed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, have made sure to commit Lee to their inaugural season in 2025, undeniably due to his popularity among fans.
The TGL has signed the biggest names in golf, including major champions Colin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose among many others.
Min Woo Lee is going right to the very top, the golfing world know it, and they are buying his stocks.
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