Min Woo Lee just crushed a drive 350 yards-plus down the middle of the fairway. Launch monitor technology recorded the ball coming off the club face at a speed of 193 miles per hour. Seconds later, a clip is uploaded to Instagram. The caption? “Let him cook.” It’s a phrase that not everybody in golf may be familiar with, but for the people who understand, it’s a ringing endorsement.
Crushing golf balls comes natural to him, and so does serving looks. Ever since The Players Championship this year when he first pulled a mock neck shirt over his head, the people can’t get enough of him. Add in a mullet, mustache, and Flak Jacket Oakleys, and Min Woo starts looking more like an F1 driver than your average polo and khakis-clad PGA TOUR golfer. He’s built for speed, and he has the fast ball to prove it.
A 24 year old born in Australia to Korean immigrants, Min Woo Lee is in the midst of a breakout season on the PGA TOUR. He secured a Special Temporary Membership earlier in the season with strong performances at The Players and PGA Championship, and now he’s on the cusp of securing a permanent spot for next season after top 10 finishes at the U.S. Open and Travelers Championship. All of which is to say, it doesn’t look like Min Woo will be going anywhere as the final major of the season, the Open Championship, approaches.
In our latest interview, we sat down with Min Woo to learn about his beginnings in golf, why he rocks a mullet and how he views his growing profile.
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HB: You grew up in Australia with parents who immigrated from Korea, tell us about your upbringing and how you got into golf.
MWL: My mom was a golf professional and she moved over to Australia before my sister and I were born. She met my dad in Korea and brought him over to Australia and started playing golf. My dad played off a plus 1 one handicap, so he was a really good golfer too. Mom would teach down the park, and my sister and I would go to the park and kind of just copy what she was teaching to her clients.
Your sister Minjee is an elite player on the LPGA Tour, what was it like growing up with her?
It was motivating in a lot of ways because there was a while there when I was kind of in her shadow, and I still am a little bit. And there’s a fine line between being in the shadow and wanting her to do really well. Because she’s been struggling just a tiny bit this year, and I never want to see that from her. I only want to see her succeed.
So it’s nice that I’m playing well and trying to fill the shoes of being a brother that could beat her. And it’s amazing to have a sister at such an elite level, or any family member who’s really solid at something who I can learn from.
“I just love doing social media and trying to make it fun. I don’t have a social media manager or anything like that. I just do it myself and try to make it fun for everyone who follows me.”
You said in an interview that you nearly quit the game around 11-12 years was old, why was that?
Yeah, so I really enjoyed playing action sports and fast paced sports. I did Taekwondo, I did soccer, and my sister and I did swimming. And I love playing basketball. Basketball was one of my favorite sports, and it still is. I love watching the NBA, and I thought golf wasn’t that fun as a little kid. But I started again when I was like 12, 13, and when I got to 15, I was selected to play an event called the Jack Newton International, which was a massive junior tournament.
I thought that was the turning point for my golfing career — not that it was the golf, I think I played okay — it was more the traveling, making friends and making good memories with people. It’s quite cool to like hang out with people with different cultures and learn from different countries.
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Do you have a favorite basketball team or player?
I love Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. I love the Golden State Warriors, I pretty much watch most of their games. But I love watching every team really when I get the chance.
Have you met Steph yet?
I haven’t met him, but he followed me last week on Instagram which was a very cool moment in my life. He said if you’re in the Bay Area, maybe we can have a hit. So that’ll be an amazing time. I’ve heard he’s a really awesome person, and I’ve obviously seen highlights of his golfing, so it’ll be cool to meet him.
“I’m just a kid that wants to be a great player and a great golfer. So just let him cook and let him do his thing.”
This season you’ve had top 10s at The Players, U.S. Open and Travelers Championship. As that has unfolded, your profile has risen and we’ve seen that manifest itself both in real life and online. Is this something you’re aware of?
Yeah, of course. I think social media has a huge impact on how my fans are in real life. You know, a lot of the younger people are screaming my name and all these slogans at me when I’m out on the golf course. And I definitely think it makes a difference. I’ve always had a big social media presence. Ever since I was a little kid, you know, 17, 18, I was hitting stingers around Sahalee Country Club. And every time I go back there I’ll have a viral video.
I just love doing social media and trying to make it fun. I don’t have a social media manager or anything like that. I just do it myself and try to make it fun for everyone who follows me. But the fans have been amazing since The Players. I think that’s when it started really kicking in on Instagram and TikTok.
Going off of that, you’ve become golf’s poster boy for the meme “let him cook.” How did you first start using that?
I think it was on a TikTok. I said it once and then I put it on my TikTok, and then ever since literally half my comments are “let him cook.” So I started doing it on Instagram, and then I think those fans from TikTok came over to Instagram and now Instagram has a lot of that stuff. And yeah I don’t know, I just saw it somewhere and I just did it, and then everyone started doing it, so now I’m saying “let him cook” nearly every time I post.
What does the phrase mean to you?
I’m just a kid that wants to be a great player and a great golfer. So just let him cook and let him do his thing.
When it comes to your game, one thing that immediately stands out is your distance. How did you learn to hit the ball so far?
I think the best way I can describe it is when I was a little kid, I was always good for my age so I always played with people older than me, and obviously they hit it further. So I always learned to try to keep up with them and had the natural ability to just hit the cr*p out of it.
It’s just naturally built in and I just had that given talent of some speed. So yeah, it’s nice to bomb the ball and also hit it somewhat straight and it’s definitely a big part of why I’ve been doing so well. I try to be swaggish out there and enjoy myself unlike a lot of the pros that are there to just do their business. I always had the motto of no matter whether you’re playing good or bad, just try to have fun.
We’d love to hear about your new look this season. People seem to be in agreement that you’re on to something with the mullet, mock neck shirt and sunglasses. Let’s start with the hair.
Yeah I think over the last year or so, the mullet has been so popular around the world, but especially in Australia. If you go to Australia, like three quarters of the people that you see have mullets, especially my age. I’ve always loved having long hair and a bit flowy, so it kind of worked out well.
It’s a bit different from the same hairstyle that everyone else in golf has. So, yeah, it’s quite nice to rock the mullet and try to get sharp on the edges and flowy at the back.
And what about mock neck shirt?
I think it’s the same as the hair. Probably not even 1% of the PGA TOUR pros wear mock necks. I was a bit weirded out about it when my clothing company gave it out to me and I thought, ‘oh, I’m never gonna wear this.’ But then I wore it at a practice round and I said, ‘oh, this actually feels really good.’ And people started recognizing me wearing it just even just in a practice round. And they were saying ‘that looks really good on you.’ So I thought, you know, I’ll try it out at a tournament.
When I brought it out at The Players people were really hyping me up on social media saying, ‘where’d you get this mock neck? This mock neck looks great on you.’ So it definitely kicked off and I try to wear it once a tournament, especially the last round just so I can get the hype and the crowd going, which definitely helps. I have the motto of you want to look good and feel good so you can play good.
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Is there any inspiration behind the look as a whole?
I’m not necessarily trying to change the wave. I’m just trying to be a little different and trying to enjoy it. I definitely think it’s been fun and like I said, a bit of a fresh air for the fans because there’s always the regular people who say that golf is an old gentleman’s sport.
I try to inspire as much as I can and try to do it in ways where I’m not just telling them to get inspired. I’m trying to do it through ways where it’s, ‘this guy looks cool’ and ‘golf can be cool and fun.’ And I think it’s slowly starting to work.
We saw a photo of you at Malbon Golf’s new store in LA. Were you there during U.S. Open week?
Yeah I went over there during U.S. Open Week, I met Stephen [Malbon] and got some stuff for myself. I’m currently wearing it right now. I thought it was actually really cool, you know, cool design and cool look to it. Right now I’m wearing the hoodie and it’s swaggy, which is awesome because I try to be like that.
Have you been following this new movement around fashion and streetwear in golf?
I think it’s definitely kicking off right now. I think people are starting to look for ways to make golf look cool. So many people play it, so why not? And some people will catch on, some people won’t. But I think if you are open-minded and if you want to look cool, you can definitely do it. And I think it’s slowly becoming that way.
Lastly, what has been the highlight of your season so far?
I definitely think The Players was a big eye opener for myself and a lot of the fans. I play for the fans and to be a man of the people. It was a tournament where I played great, but also messed up on a couple holes. And sometimes golf and life is like that and it’s how you bounce back.
