Min Woo Lee (-17) has delivered a strong statement of authority in the third round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, signing an excellent card of 63 strokes to lead the tournament by four over his closest pursuer, the Argentine Alejandro Tosti (-13), who also made significant progress today (round of 65).
It’s not too surprising that the young Australian is capable of closing such exuberant rounds. He is an inherently explosive player. What would be more novel is if he manages to secure his first victory on the PGA Tour, precisely because he hasn’t been able to do so yet, despite all the virtues that adorn him as a high-level golf player. This Sunday, he has given himself an excellent opportunity.
Min Woo Lee is one of those players who are quickly seen as being two steps away from great achievements, especially after his victory at the Scottish Open almost four years ago, when he was a newcomer and barely 22 years old. Two steps, yes, but he hasn’t quite taken them yet. It seems a matter of time before he wins on the world’s most important circuit (he has played 55 tournaments), and perhaps it will be this week in Texas where he finds the successful starting point, the famous ‘before and after’. And he can’t be pointed out as a golfer with damp powder or a blunt edge, as he already has four victories in different circuits in a still burgeoning professional career.
In some way, the Australian has returned Scottie Scheffler (-12) to the starting point of 2025. Although this statement is merely a literary way to honour and further highlight the excellent performance of Min Woo Lee, who has done what he has done right under the nose of the World Number One, who started as the sole leader in this third round, both sharing the star match alongside Taylor Pendrith (-9). In reality, it was Scheffler who returned to his old ways on his own. His game this Saturday was much closer to the earthly version of Thursday than the excellent one of Friday, although with two differences. On one hand, that day, Thursday, the playing conditions were tougher, with water and wind; on the other hand, the Texan found a great ally in his putter during that first round, which certainly did not happen in the third round. It wasn’t so much the errors in reading the breaks, which also happened, but simply that the ball didn’t roll for him this Saturday with the same calmness and sweetness.
The Number One will start tomorrow five strokes off the lead, so it can’t be stated categorically that it’s in his hands to regain the path to victory. If Min Woo Lee falters, then the tournament could indeed become a real battlefield, as the leaderboard is very tight behind the Australian. Either way, a sustained and exciting charge from Scheffler can and should be expected in his final round of competition before the first Major of the season.
Surely Rory McIlroy (-9) also wants to finish at a gallop. The Northern Irishman made the cut on Friday with some difficulty, but today he delivered one of the best cards of the day (65), with a fantasy eagle included on the 8th hole to close the round (he had started playing on the 10th), where he holed out with a chip from off the green. He is very far from Min Woo Lee, and it’s hard to grant him any chance of victory as the World Number 2, but surely Rory will leave sufficiently satisfied if he can pick up the pace on Sunday and finish inside the top ten, who knows, maybe even inside the top 5 in a week where he hasn’t felt very sharp.
