Through the first two rounds of the Players Championship it’s been the Min Woo Lee show.
The 26-year-old from Australia is tied for the lead, with Akshay Bhatia, at 11-under-par, after carding a fine round of 66 in the second round at Sawgrass.
However, it’s been Lee’s magician-like ability to escape a couple of jams that have been the talk of the event so far.
Lee spoke to the media after his second round, citing his 2-iron as why he has shot so well and feels so comfortable at TPC Sawgrass.
“I think, I’m not sure why, but I think my 2-iron, I’m using that a lot and it’s a pretty good weapon of mine,” Lee said.
“So I can kind of draw it and hit it straight and it goes a long way.
“When I hit it good, it goes, ends up going a long way. That helps.
“Then you have short clubs into holes, so yeah, I would love to hit a 2-iron everywhere but obviously you can’t.”
Lee’s opening round of 67 also saw him find himself in a couple of precarious situations.
But he was able to work his way out of them and credited a specific aspect of his game that got him out of trouble – and it was no surprise that it was the same that paved the way for his second round masterclass.
“I just had a feeling that if I hit a good two-iron, which I have been all day, I could have a short wedge in, Lee said.
“Managed to produce the worst swing of the day about 40 yards right of where I wanted to hit it.
“I was just very happy to have a par putt. I literally had no shot.
“I had an opportunity to kind of go over the grandstand, and if it ended up in the grandstand I would get a drop, but that was still a tough shot pitching it back this way…
“That third shot could have easily gone in the water had I just pulled it,” Lee said on Thursday.
“But used a bit of magic and tried to cut up a pitching wedge out of the rough and — out of the pine straw, and it was absolutely perfect.”
Lee joins an exclusive club after his performance over the opening two days.
Prior to this year, only Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau – of players with at least 10 career round at Sawgrass – had a sub-70 scoring average, per Underdog Golf.
Lee now joins their illustrious company, but unlike the proven major champions, the Aussie is still looking for his first PGA Tour win.
But if the next two days are anything like his first two, Lee could be walking home with $4.5 million in his pocket.
