Min Woo Lee was delighted as a stunning display of putting got his second round at the 2023 US PGA Championship off to a flying start.
The Australian birdied four of the first five holes at Oak Hill on his way to eventually signing for a three-under-par 67 – cancelling out his opening 73 and leaving him five shots off the lead.
Lee holed from 21 feet for birdie at the first and set up another gain with a fine approach to the second, before another long putt saved par at the next.
He rescued an errant tee shot at the fourth with a superb approach and a textbook up and down, and saved the best for the fifth hole where he holed from 77 feet for yet another birdie.
One more at the seventh ensured he reached the halfway point of the tournament level par despite dropped shots at the sixth and 15th and his excitement was obvious as he spoke after his round.
Huge Friday. Lets make it a good weekend! 🔥🤝 pic.twitter.com/59YT733dVa
— Min Woo Lee (@Minwoo27Lee) May 19, 2023
“On one, holed like a 15-, 20-footer, hit it out to the green from the left rough and holed a nice putt,” he said.
“Then I hit a four iron and a wedge to about five feet (at the second), holed that. Made a really nice putt on three on the par three. It was, like, a 12-, 13-, 14-footer. That was a really good momentum save.
“I hit a really nice second shot on the par-five (fourth) around the trees. I had to hit this low draw, which was awesome, to the front of the green and made a nice up-and-down.
“Five, I holed… I don't know how many foot it was. It was 60, 70 feet. It was crazy. Our whole group made a birdie, which was nice, and got the crowd going.
“Good bogey on the sixth hole. Holed, like, a 10-footer after hitting it over the green into the water. Then seven, holed a putt from just off the front of the green. So a lot of holed putts footage today, so that was nice.”
Oak Hill has provided a stern test for the field this week, particularly in changeable weather conditions, and Lee was happy with a solid score on the day.
“I definitely think it's one of the tougher ones,” he said.
“I shot three under, and it's probably one of the lowest rounds of the day. That says something, and I putted amazing, pretty much holed every putt I really looked at.”
