Min Woo Lee Wins 2023 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
While Cameron Smith didn’t make history, Min Woo Lee continued a streak of Australian golfers winning one of the country’s biggest tournaments. For the sixth year in a row, an Aussie won the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Lee built a big lead over the first three rounds, and his 68 on Sunday was enough to cruise to a three-shot victory over Rikuya Hoshino with a score of a 20-under 264 at Royal Queensland in Brisbane.
Lee had fun with the crowd on Sunday. His catch phrase is “let him cook,” and a fan had a chef’s hat that Lee donned on the 17th green, which was the “party hole” at the course.
It was Lee’s third DP World Tour victory, as this tournament was a joint event with the DPWT and the Australasian Tour. Lee claimed victory on the latter tour last month in Macau. It’s a good way to finish up the year that saw him close to victory on several occasions, including at The Players Championship on the PGA Tour and the U.S. Open, where he finished fifth.
“I’ve always thought I could win, but it took a while to get over the hump,” he said. “Two wins in the last month or so. Yeah, I’m really proud of my team and myself and yeah, I made it interesting early on and through the middle, but ended up hanging on, so I’m really proud.”
Lee had a shaky front nine, but he put that all behind him with a long chip-in for an eagle on the ninth hole, which set him apart from the rest of the field. It also received a huge ovation from the Australian fans.
“I think that was probably the best atmosphere shot I’ve ever hit,” Lee said. “I’ve had a few chip-ins, but that one was, at that point, it was getting close and I was in a pretty average position off the tee shot after the tee shot, so to chip that in and it was amazing. It was one of the best shots I’ve probably hit.”
Lee, 25, earned a 2024 PGA Tour card through his play on the DP World Tour, so expect more of him in the U.S. in the coming months.
2023 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship Final Results
Behind Hoshino, who finished second at -17, was LIV Golf’s Marc Leishman at -16. Curtis Luck was fourth, and LIV’s Joaquin Niemann was fifth. Adam Scott placed sixth, and there was a six-way tie for seventh that included Cam Davis, Lucas Herbert, and Rafa Cabrera Bello.
Cameron Smith, the defending champion who was going for a tournament-record fourth win, wasn’t around to see the conclusion of the event. The LIV Golf star and 2022 Open Championship winner missed the cut after rounds of 73 and 78.
Up Next
The DP World Tour held events in Australia and South Africa this weekend and will do so again this week. Many of the same golfers, including Lee and Smith, will be playing in the ISPS Handa Australian Open. Also in the field is defending champion Adrian Meronk.
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