Battling Min Woo gets pick-me-up with Minjee’s backing
Min Woo Lee felt he had let his country down after his miserable first round at an Olympics – but he picked himself up and has been cheered to an excellent finish by big sister Minjee at Le Golf National.
Games debutants Lee, tied for 22nd, and fellow Aussie Jason Day, joint-ninth, both admitted to disappointment at missing out on the medals, but both were left blown away by the fantastic climax which felt like Olympic golf’s coming-of-age Sunday as Scottie Scheffler delivered an epic round of 62 to snatch the gold.
“It’s been special, representing my country. There’s been a little bit of pressure and obviously, the first day I felt devastated, I felt like I let the country down,” said Lee, who was crestfallen to shoot a five-over 76 for starters back on Thursday.
“But I made sure I bounced back, and I thought I did a pretty good job the next three days (with rounds of 65, 68 and 68).”
It helped that he had his biggest yellow-shirted supporter, two-time major winner Minjee Lee, following him around for a few holes as she took a break for her own practice at the course before the women’s tournament begins on Wednesday.
“It’s special that my sister followed me around. I mean, I think I support her more than she supports me, so it’s quite great to see her doing that!” said Lee.
The whole experience has given him a taste for the Olympics. “I’m really excited for the next one, and I’ll try my best to make it,” added the 26-year-old.
Day was a little disappointed with his finish, after a sizzling start with two birdies in the first three holes but his decent final-round 68 was not enough as the birdies were flying around liberally elsewhere.
“It was kind of a weird scenario. I drove it pretty poorly the first three days, hit iron shots really nice, and it was the reverse today and I had no idea where the ball was going. So it was nice to keep my round going with my short game and my putting,” said the Queenslander.
“I had a top-10 finish with not quite having the stuff that you needed. There’s some guys that are playing some phenomenal golf right now. I’ve got to do a lot of work to get to that level.
“But it was very impressive week. It’s amazing what sport can do to bring people together.
“This is a week that we’re not playing for money, we’re playing for a medal, playing for your country and you’re wearing the colours on your chest.
“It’s brought out old feelings that I thought I didn’t have, but I still have deep down, on why we play golf and why we love it so much.
“It was impressive to see all the different countries out there. I thoroughly enjoyed the week, and I’m hoping that I get to play in four years.”
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