Min Woo Lee holds off Scheffler and Woodland to win Houston Open for first PGA Tour title

Min Woo Lee kept his calm amid tremendous charges by Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland, winning the Houston Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title with the best lag of his life that set up a final par for a one-shot victory.

Lee bent over and repeatedly clutched his fists when his 55-foot putt settled inches from the cup on the 18th hole, leaving him a tap-in par for a 3-under 67. He finished at 20-under 260, breaking the tournament record by four shots.

“It’s hard — it’s really hard,” Lee said. “Obviously, Scottie is a wonderful golfer and he keeps you on your toes. The first time being in front, I’m glad I got it done. I’m very exhausted. It was a lot of mental grind. I’m so proud of how I handled myself.”

Every shot mattered after Lee made one bad swing to make what looked like a Sunday stroll turn very stressful. He led by five shots on the back nine until Woodland, who played his last four holes in 4-under par to tie the Memorial Park course record with a 62, made his charge.

Scheffler, in his final start before defending his Masters title, ran off four straight birdies to get within one shot until his 7-iron on the 18th hole came up some 25 yards short of the pin. He chipped to a few feet for par and a 63.

Lee was still in control until he sliced his tee shot on the par-5 16th into the water, having to hit his third from the tee and doing well to two-putt from 40 feet for bogey. That ended 41 consecutive holes without a bogey, and dropped his lead to one shot with two to play.

Lee missed well to the left on the 18th — not an issue because Memorial Park has minimal rough — and his approach went just over the back of the green. He chose to putt instead of chip, and it worked out to near perfection.

Woodland was on the range, watching on his phone. It was his best finish since he had brain surgery to remove a tumor in September 2023. This is final year of his exemption from winning the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and the runner-up finish will serve him well.

Scheffler was in the scoring area watching Lee clinch the victory. He looked over at his caddie and laughed. He closed with a 63 and couldn’t have done much more.

“Just trying to put as much pressure on Min Woo as I could have,” Scheffler said. “I was hoping to be able to do that on the front nine. I wasn’t able to get off to a good enough start. And he played some really good golf. I think he made one mistake on 16, but I think he did some really good stuff out there and he just went out and beat us this week.”

The 26-year-old Lee, whose older sister Minjee Lee is a major champion on the LPGA Tour, had won three times on the European tour and once on the Asian Tour. He became the fifth player this year to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.

Sami Valimaki of Finland also tied the tournament record of 62 and finished fourth.

Rory McIlroy shot 64, with bogeys at the start and finish of his final round before the Masters. He tied for fifth and was headed home to get the final touches on his game before going to Augusta National to try to complete the career Grand Slam.

The other battle on the course was between Michael Kim and Ben Griffin, both trying to move inside the top 50 in the world ranking and earn a spot in the Masters. Kim made a 6-foot par putt on his last hole for a 69 to tie for 32nd, allowing him to move to No. 50 by the slimmest or margins over Griffin. The difference in their two-year average points was 0.2.

Lee already was in the Masters from being in the top 50 at the end of last year. Now he has a PGA Tour title, setting him up for the rest of the $20 million signature events this year.

“Everyone out here knows how talented the kid is. He’s an absolute stud,” Woodland said. “We all know once you break through for him sky’s the limit, so really happy for him. For me, it was great just to get those juices flowing again, just to see some results.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf