How Adam Scott Motivated Min Woo Lee To Play Well At The U.S. Open By Offering Him A Seat On His Private Jet
Min Woo Lee carded one of the lowest scores of the day during Sunday's final round of the U.S. Open and a text from his fellow countryman Adam Scott the night before seems to have played a role.
Lee put himself firmly in contention after the opening two rounds at Los Angeles Country Club as he found himself at 6-under heading into the weekend. Saturday wasn't as kind to the 24-year-old as he posted a four-over 74 which led to a drastic drop on the leaderboard.
After Lee's disappointing third round, Adam Scott elected to take on the role of motivator by sending Lee a text. It wasn't just your typical 'you'll get 'em tomorrow' sort of text, either, it was a text with an offer, an offer that included a seat on Scott's private jet to next week's Travelers Championship in Connecticut.
Min Woo Lee finished T-5 at the U.S. Open after a motivating text from Adam Scott on Saturday. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Interestingly enough, Lee hadn't actually qualified for the Travelers Championship. He is a special temporary member with limited starts, but a Top 10 at the U.S. Open would likely punch his ticket to play the next week. He was actually planning on taking the week off to go watch his sister, Minjee, compete in the Women's PGA Championship in New Jersey.
“Just finish in the top 10 then and you can come,” Lee said of Scott's text after Sunday's round. “It was a really cool feeling for Adam to do that for me; he’s been a good mentor in my career."
Lee went out and delivered on Sunday carding a bogey-free 67 to finish in a tie for fifth, his best finish in a major championship.
“It’s amazing, I don’t too many top results that often, as much as the top players, so it’s really nice to do it at a major and do it at a US Open,” Lee explained.
Talk about an unforgettable Sunday for Lee. A Top 5 finish at a major championship, a paycheck of just under $740,000, and a seat on a private jet on a cross-country flight to Connecticut.
Lee has shown serious flashes in big moments on multiple occasions this season. On top of his T-5 finish in the U.S. Open, he also finished T-18 at the PGA Championship and T-6 at The Players.