THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 6, 2023

Min Woo Lee

TPC Sawgrass

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll get started. Thank you for spending a new minutes with us with the Australian media here. Your first appearance at THE PLAYERS Championship, the PGA TOUR's flagship tournament this week. Maybe just talk about the excitement of being here at TPC Sawgrass.

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, it's amazing. I'm just thankful to get into the tournament. I was the last person pretty much to get in from the rankings, being 50th on the dot. But I'm excited. I played the front nine today and I'll play the back nine with Adam Scott and Jason Day tomorrow. So I'm really excited to play the back nine and especially those finishing holes are going to be special. But, yeah, I'm excited to play such a good course.

THE MODERATOR: From what you've seen today on the front nine, what are your thoughts about the challenges ahead for you guys?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, it's a tough course. I mean, if the wind is strong it's going to be a tough course off the tee. Especially, like a Pete Dye golf course, the architect for the golf club, it's very intimidating off the tee. But it also kind of goes in my favor because I like really like seeing shapes off the tees. You kind of have to play it off the trees or play it off a bunker, which I really enjoy. And it's tough as well. It's also a quite long course. So there's some tough holes out there and it's going to be a true test. The rough is pretty thick, but if you hit the fairway you can make some birdies.

THE MODERATOR: Since the end of last year I think you've had like six top 10s around the world. Form seems to be trending quite nicely. How are you feeling with your game coming into a big week like this week?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, obviously last week was tough. Bay Hill was just a very tough course. Hopefully, one year I can get on the good side of that course.

But I have been playing very good. One thing I really had to get better at was my approach game. Even though I didn't play that well last week, I was top 20 in the approach play for the first two rounds. So that's a very big step forward for myself and my team. Hopefully, I can drive it a little bit better than last week and keep going. The game's trending and, yeah, hopefully I can have a good week this week.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We'll take the first question.

Q. You mentioned obviously you're number 50 on the dot. Is there a little bit of a Masters sort of thing in the background knowing that you need to stay there heading into this week and how do you sort of balance that challenge?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, for sure. I got this tournament and I got the Match Play to look forward to. Those two tournaments to get me in the top 50. So I'm not really -- it's in the back of my mind, but I'm not really thinking about it too much. Obviously there's a bigger task in front of me and I got to play well this week. But I guess good golf takes care of itself. But it's an exciting time to -- I'm in a good spot right now and hopefully I can have a good week in these next two and I'm excited.

Q. Obviously, Jason and Adam are both won THE PLAYERS. Do you sort of lean on them tomorrow when you play the round with them for a bit of their expertise?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, for sure. I played with Collin Morikawa today and he gave me a few tips. Some of the experienced caddies that were in the group, too. And, yeah, of course I can't wait to play with those two. They're really nice guys and they're always willing to give advice, which is really cool. Obviously being a fellow Aussie it's always nice to play with them. Haven't played with them in a while. So I can't wait to get it going tomorrow and experience the back nine.

Q. Obviously, there's been some fairly substantial changes to the PGA announced in the last couple of weeks. James Hahn has been a particularly vocal critic of them. Obviously if you're in those kind of superstardom group, then you're obviously going to love the changes. But if you're not in those kind of biggest names you might feel like you're kind of on the bubble. So just if I could get your thoughts on the changes. No cuts, smaller field, bigger prize funds, whatnot.

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, I can see both ways. I mean, obviously, if you're a good golfer and you deserve to be in the top 70 or whatever people get in that tournament, it's an amazing time. And obviously there's no cut and you can play freely. But, yeah, if you're outside of that it's a bit tough. Obviously not getting those ranking points and not getting the starts of those tournaments.

It is tough, but I like stuff like that where it's a goal for me to get that good to get into those tournaments. I'm not on the PGA TOUR, but I feel like if you get there and you are one of those top players, you're going to love it because, I mean, those tournaments are meant for you and you're versing the best in the world.

So I agree with it because, I mean, good golf, you got to play good golf to play in the best tournaments. So, yeah, it is what it is. But I guess that's what the players really wanted to do and that's what it is.

Q. I know you're good mates with Kurt Kitayama who won last week. Can you give us an idea how you guys came to be good mates? And then also, watching him win a big event like that last week, what does that do for you someone like you going into this week?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah me and Kurt met about, I think it was in Oman when it was like my first year out. So it was only like the first few months of the year. I kind of knew him from friends and then we just started being really close in tournaments and having practice rounds and going to dinner. And then he would say come over to Vegas once. Then I've been every time I'm over on the West Coast I would always go visit him and practice with him.

So, yeah, it's amazing. I saw him today. It's amazing to see like a good friend win such a big event against obviously the biggest pros out there and the best pros. So it is nice to see a friend do so well. Obviously the prize money is nice, so he can pay for dinner next time. But it is a cool experience. Especially with a guy that you practiced with and you know what kind of your strength and your weaknesses are practicing with him. It is cool to see him do so well and hopefully I have a good week this week or the next few weeks coming up and have a good finish.

Q. Does that, obviously I think you have always been comfortable playing in bigger events as you come up, as an amateur and then as an early pro. You spent a lot of time with Adam. You're comfortable with Adam. But being a contemporary, does that make you even a little bit more comfortable going into a week like this week as you say that you've played and practiced a lot with a guy, and probably beaten him a few times as well, knowing that he's gotten it done at that level that, you know, you're right there as well?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, I definitely think I belong out here. But it's -- obviously courses like last week are so tough and I still got a lot of experiencing and a lot of golf to go. But, yeah, I think the good golf is there. I make tons of birdies and I hit it a long way and I've been hitting it a lot better. But just getting all four rounds together, it's tough. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to all the challenges ahead.

It is nice to play with top guys like Adam and Jason. Obviously they have won plenty of times out on TOUR. So, yeah, it's just like you just go through the motions and hopefully one of these weeks is your week and you finish on top.

Q. You had a bit of an extended period of time at home as well. Did you work on anything particularly with Ritchie while you were back home or was it just a case of resting and catching up on things?

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, it was, after the Aussie Open I took a few weeks off. And then we really worked on my approach play, because that was the worst part of my game. It's been trending so much. I mean, last week I missed the cut, but I still was in the top 20 for strokes gained approach for the first two rounds. I think I was 6th or 7th in Abu Dhabi and top 15 in Dubai.

So just a bit of technique work. If you really want to know, I just was getting a bit too steep with my irons and I was trying, I was getting a little chicken wing, which I don't really, which is not really pretty and the contact of the ball is not as good as what it can be. So we're working on that. I still have a little bit, but it's slowly getting better and better every week, which is nice. It's showing on the stats. So hopefully everything else matches up and, yeah, it's going to be a good week.

Q. I want to go slightly left field, if possible. Obviously the Australian TOUR's events last year I guess were the first major to have or the first major event I should say to have combined men's and women's field. You and Minjee are obviously quite close. I personally would love to see more of these combined events, I assume you would too, with the possibility of playing with Minjee in the same event.

MIN WOO LEE: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I'm all for it. Obviously it's just -- it's also nice to have my family all in one spot. It's never like that. We're rarely together in the same spot. So it is nice to play and stay in the same house and eat mom's and dad's cooking. It is nice to play with people that you've always grown up with, the girls and the guys as well. So, yeah, I'm all for playing in tournaments that are combined.

THE MODERATOR: All right. With that we'll conclude the interview. Thank you for being here this afternoon and good luck this week.

MIN WOO LEE: All right. Thank you.