HOUSTON – Ming Woo Lee stayed gently amid a massive accusations by Scotty Schaeffler and Gary Woodland, winning the Houston Open on Sunday to win his first PGA Tour title with the highest delay in his life, setting the final par of a one-shot victory.
Lee bent his fist and clenched repeatedly as a 55-foot putt from the cup on the 18th hole calmed down an inch from the cup, leaving a tap-in par with a 3-under 67.
“It’s difficult – it’s really difficult,” Lee said. “Obviously, Scotty is a great golfer and he’s on your toes. I’m in front of you for the first time. I’m happy that you’ve made it. I’m so tired. It’s been a lot of mental grinds.
After Lee made one bad swing and made what looked like a Sunday walk very stressful, all the shots were important. He led with five shots on the back nine, with Woodland playing the final four holes on a four-under par, tied the Memorial Park course record for 62 and in charge.
Schaeffler drove off four straight birdies in his final start before defending the Masters title, reaching within one shot until the 7-iron on the 18th hole rose about 25 yards away from the pin. He was missing a few feet for par and 63.
Lee was still in control until he sliced his tee shot into the water in par 5 16th place. It ended 41 consecutive holes without bogeys and then played his lead for two to drop into one shot.
Lee was often missed left on the 18th – not an issue as Memorial Park was minimally rough. He chose a putt instead of a tip, but it was almost perfect.
Woodland looked at his phone and was in range. It was his best finish since he had brain surgery in September 2023 to remove the tumor. This was the final year of his exemption, winning the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach, and the runner-up finish will help him.
Schaeffler was in the scoring area seeing Lee win. He laughed at the caddy. He closed at 63 and couldn’t do anything more.
“I’m just trying to put as much pressure on Min Wu as I can,” Schaeffler said. “I was hoping to do that on the front nine. I couldn’t get off to a good start. And he played really good golf. I think he made one mistake at 16, but he did something really good and beat us this week.”
Lee, 26, whose sister Minzi Lee is the leading LPGA Tour champion, won three European tours and one Asian tour. He became the fifth player this year to win the first time on the PGA Tour.
Finland’s Sami Verimaki also tied 62 tournament records and finished fourth.
Rory McIlroy shot a 64 and shot a bogey at the start and end of the final round before the Masters. He was tied up to the fifth and went home to get the final touch in his game, attempting to complete a career grand slam to Augusta National.
Another fight on the course was between Michael Kim and Ben Griffin, both of whom were moving within the top 50 in the world rankings and trying to win a spot for the Masters. Kim made a 6-foot putt in the final hole, tied the 69 to 32nd place, allowing him to move over Griffin to 50th place with slim or margin. The difference in average points over the two years was 0.2.
Lee was already in the Master since he was in the Top 50 at the end of last year. He is currently winning the PGA Tour title and is setting him up this year for the remaining $20 million signature event.
“Everyone here knows the talent of a child. He’s an absolute stud,” Woodland said. “We all, Skye is really happy for him when you break through for him. For me, it was great to just flow those juices again and see some results.”