Min Woo Lee is targeting a week to remember at Royal Portrush after recharging his batteries in the build up to the final men’s Major of the year.
Instead of competing at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, Lee took time out to attend Wimbledon and the Formula 1 GP at Silverstone, sample Guinness in Dublin, play some social golf and generally relax with his inner circle.
Amongst his entourage is Zach Capelli, Lee’s long-time friend and regular golfing partner from Royal Fremantle, who is also a member of GolfWA’s High Performance Program.
After what has been, at times, an arduous season, Lee says the presence of Capelli has acted as a partial cure for his own occasional pangs of homesickness.
“I think just having him [here] is great,” Lee said of Capelli. “It’s good to have a piece of home come over here on the other side of the world and just be there.
“When I’m with him, I laugh way more than usual and that’s just something that I’ve not had over the last couple of months, especially playing tough golf.”
Min Woo Lee has been relaxing off course with friends including Zach Capelli (credit: Min Woo Lee Instagram)
Despite earning a breakthrough PGA Tour title in March, Lee’s form has fluctuated since and he admits he has been close to burnout – a factor in his decision not to play the Scottish Open at Renaissance Club, where he won his first DP World Tour title in 2021.
“It is a funny one, because I have won [at Renaissance Club] and I do love the course, but I’ve been playing a lot and I felt really burnt out playing the [PGA Tour] Signature events where they were very tough courses,” he said.
“We wanted to be fresh coming into this week and I had a great week leading up to this tournament.”
Since arriving in Portrush, Lee has played practice rounds with fellow Western Australians Ryan Peake and Curtis Luck – both of whom make their Open Championship debuts this week.
Peake has been drawn alongside Phil Mickelson and Daniel Van Tonder for his first two rounds, while Luck will play with Daniel Young and Curtis Knipes, who both came through Final Qualifying. Lee, meanwhile, will tee it up with Tyrrell Hatton and Russel Henley.
The WA trio are amongst nine Australians in the field, alongside Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Elvis Smylie.
Former Joondalup and Lakelands member Aldrich Potgieter is also in the field, and in excellent company, grouped with five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka and Sam Burns.
The Open will be aired live on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo throughout Championship week.
Main image: Getty Images
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