Australia’s Min Woo Lee scrambled for a par on the final hole to hold off a collection of hard-charging pursuers and win on the PGA Tour for the first time, capturing the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Sunday at Memorial Park Golf Course.
Lee shot a final-round 3-under-par 67, using a magnificent putt from off the green on the final hole that led to a tap-in par. His 20-under 260 was good enough, as World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler (63) and Gary Woodland (62) finished a stroke back.
Lee was in the last group and his tee shot on the final hole went into the rough. His approach left him off the green before he delivered in a big moment.
The 26-year-old began the day with a four-shot lead, but it was far from a comfortable round.
Scheffler had four consecutive birdies on the back nine before finishing with back-to-back pars in his bogey-free round.
After playing the first 10 holes in 5 under, Woodland seemed to have his momentum squashed with a bogey on No. 13. But his birdie on the 15th and an eagle on the next hole put him back on track, and he wrapped up the round with a birdie. He had to wait for Scheffler and Lee to finish to learn his fate.
Finland’s Sami Valimaki (62) finished fourth at 17 under, followed by Wyndham Clark (64), Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (64), Canadian Taylor Pendrith (65) and Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti (68) at 15 under.
Scheffler hasn’t won yet this year and is just a couple of weeks away from the Masters, where he is the defending champion.
Woodland, a four-time winner on the tour, was seeking his first victory since the 2019 U.S. Open.
Woodland moved into second place by going 4 under through eight holes, trailing Lee by four shots. Woodland closed within two shots through 10 holes on the way to his lowest 18-hole score on tour since 2018.
Half the field teed off on the 10th hole, so there were some fast-changing sequences on the leaderboard.
–Field Level Media
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