Min Woo Lee returns to the BMW Australian PGA Championship this week with a stronger physique, a rebuilt swing and a refocused mindset as he targets a strong start at the first event of the new season on the DP World Tour.
The 27-year-old Australian, who lifted the Joe Kirkwood Cup at Royal Queensland in 2023, admitted that he has spent much of the second half of the year in a rebuilding phase.
The catalyst for change came not long after he found himself becoming too 'results-orientated' following his first victory on the PGA TOUR at the Texas Children's Houston Open earlier this year.
After his win, he managed just three top‑50 finishes in his next ten starts, with a tie for 13th at the Rocket Classic on the PGA TOUR the outlier in that span.
“I became a little too result-orientated,” Lee told media ahead on Monday.
“I didn’t write down my goals, I just kept playing. Golf moves quickly — you win, then suddenly The Masters is around the corner. I became a little too result-oriented.
"Now I’m focusing on the process, the boring stuff, but that’s what the best players do.”
Lee, who did not play between the PGA TOUR's FedEx St. Jude Championship in August and the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour in September, underwent a rebuilding phase with his long-time coach Ritchie Smith.
He proved the reset was a worthy one. He finished tied 11th at Wentworth, before finishing tied fifth at the FedEx Open de France at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche. A missed cut came next at the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA TOUR, but he bounced back with a tie for tenth at the Baycurrent Classic.
"I played very average in the signature events this year and my coach and I had to do something with my swing so it was a rebuilding phase just beforehand," he said.
"It was a little bit of a trial run to see how I handle myself under a little bit of pressure."
Getting into the mechanics of it, Lee explained that his hips were getting too far forward.
“You see the best players in the world stack over their left side through impact, and with my swing through impact, my left hip was going backwards … so then my hands were getting too far forward, and I was getting a lot of shuffling,” he said.
“Now I’m trying to stack over on to my left side and get better with that."
That reset, in addition to both his swing and his mindset, has been matched by a physical transformation.
"I've gained a lot of kilos just to get stronger," he added.
“I’m feeling good. The shirts are getting a little tight, not just the top, but the bottom. I did the bulk bit pretty good, but now I’ve probably got to cut a bit.”
Now, he returns to the DP World Tour's season opener in front of home fans after over a month off ready to showcase those changes.
The BMW Australian PGA Championship offers the perfect stage to do that. Lee knows the course well, having also finished tied 15th in his title defence last year.
"I am feeling good. It's great to come back to a place you won before.
"We all want to get our hands on the trophies. I just want to play really good solid golf and hopefully I can give myself a chance on Sunday to get that trophy.
"It’s nice being back in Australia, playing in front of friends and family. A good result would be great, but I also want to enjoy it — it’s the end of the year and time to relax afterwards.”
