K.H.

Lee

Lee has gone back-to-back at TPC Craig Ranch and looks to join a very exclusive club by week’s end. Only Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and Stuart Appleby have accomplished a three-peat in the last 40 years. What is it about the course that suits Lee so well? “I like this golf course. Course shape a little wide, and I like to try hard with my driver, so hit driver harder, a little more wider fairway, I like it. Also, I don’t know why, when I’m here, putting really good and confidence here, so that is I think key for me.” Lee has gained 21 strokes tee-to-green and 8.4 strokes putting over the last two editions. He also arrives fresh off a T8 finish at Quail Hollow Club.

Lee did a good job of finding the greens in regulation (15) and from there he let his putter do the talking. He poured home four putts from outside of 12 feet including a 30'5" birdie blast at the par-3 17th. He walked off the course ranked 1st in strokes gained putting. Lee is currently tied at the top and if the lead holds then it’ll be his fourth time posting a first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR (T13/2019 Travelers Championship; T38/2022 WM Phoenix Open; T53/2022 Memorial Tournament). The 31-year-old had arrived with a T60 and T58 in two tries at Quail Hollow Club.

Lee was smooth out of the gate with a perfect 7-of-7 fairways hit and 9 GIR on the outward nine. He lost more than a shot to the field with his short game to settle for a 2-under 34 at the turn. He remained steady on the way home but could only muster up one more birdie. He walked off the course gaining 2.1 strokes on approach, a category that he led this week (+7.2) but lost a stroke putting today (23rd in SG:Putting on the week). Lee ended the week two shots off the winning pace of Rory Mcilory. It will go in the books as his fifth podium finish in 121 career PGA TOUR starts. Lee is now 16th in the early FedExCup race and not in the field for next week’s Bermuda Championship.

Both of Lee’s prior victories have come at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but he showed Saturday that his game can travel while hitting 16 of 18 greens en route to a 5-under 66 that tied for the low round of the day and left him at 12 under for the week, T-2 and one shot behind Rory McIlroy. The CJ Cup was originally based in South Korea, played at Nine Bridges from 2017-19 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the tournament States-side. Lee could become the first Korean to win this event, but in order to do so he’ll need to outlast a pair of former world No. 1s in McIlroy and Jon Rahm (T-2). This is by far Lee’s best start of the wraparound season, following a T-37 finish in Napa and T-59 result last week in Japan.

Lee started his week at 33rd in the FedExCup race. He’s well aware of the top-30 bubble as he finished 31st in the standings last season. He needed a low round today to play his way into East Lake and a 6-under 65 will likely do the job. At press time he’s projected at 24th in the FedExCup standings. Lee piped 31-of-56 fairways this week (T9) and landed 53 GIR (T12). That steady striking has him sitting in T4 on the live leaderboard with play still in progress. If he keeps a spot inside of the top 5 then it’ll go in the books as his sixth career top 5 on the PGA TOUR, but his first top 10 in a playoff event (T12 at last year’s BMW Championship).

The South Korean took advantage of preferred lies with 11-of-14 fairways hit and from there he landed 11 greens in regulation. Most of the heavy lifting was done with his putter, though. Lee splashed home six putts from outside of 10 feet, ranking 2nd in strokes gained putting today (+4.2). He’s posted just one measured putting round better than this in his PGA TOUR career (+6 SG:Putting in R1 of the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship). Lee started the week ranked 40th in the FedExCup standings. He was one spot shy of making it to East Lake last year but could find his way this time around if he keeps his foot on the gas this week.

The South Korean was T6 (two back) thru 54 holes here last year (69-64-69) before cratering 67 spots after a then-career-worst, 10-over 80 out of the fourth-to-last twosome on Sunday. This year, after posting laps of 68-64-66, he’ll be in the third-to-last twosome in the finale (w/ Martin Laird), and is chasing a third TOUR victory in 112 events, second of the season in 22 starts, joining last month’s AT&T Byron Nelson (as defender), where he came from four back (T6) with a career-low, bogey-free 9-under 63 to clip 54-hole leader and playing competitor Jordan Spieth by one. At the three-quarter mark, the 30-year-old has totaled one eagle and 14 birdies against four bogeys, and ranks 36th SG: Tee-to-Green (2.105), including a 1.769 TTG today, and 3rd SG: Putting (7.607), 1.020 of that in R3. Two starts ago at the Memorial, he was T1 after 18 holes, T2 after 36 and T15 after 54, and ended with new-career-worst, 10-over 82, his fourth over-par round on Sunday in his last five events, save for the aforementioned, wicked-good 63 at TPC Craig Ranch.

The South Korean, who arrived off a major-best T37 at last week’s U.S. Open in Massachusetts, is making his fourth straight appearance with a best of T13 on debut in 2019, where he was a R1 co-leader (64-72-67-68). This week, he’s kicked off with 68-64, currently T4, which is exactly where he was last year (T4) before cratering to T73 (69-64-69-80), and was error-free 7-under today thru 14 holes (1 eagle, 5 birdies) before ending his scoring with bogey-5 at 15 (failed scramble). The 30-year-old, who matched the low round in the clubhouse with three others, owns two TOUR victories in 111 events, both at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas, including this season’s edition five starts ago (as defender), where he was T6 (3 back) thru 36 holes (64-68-67-63) before eventually winning by one over Jordan Spieth. See link below to post-round comments.

After kicking off with 67 to co-lead with five others, the South Korean began off 10 tee today and outpaced two squares at holes 2 and 4 (failed sand saves) with four circles at 12, 15, 1 (hole-out from 39'6" away) and 7. On 12 (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, he lost 1.398 strokes with the flat stick but gained 1.300 off-the-tee, 0.963 approaching and 2.286 around-the-green, and thru 36 holes, ranks 3rd SG: Approach (5.274) and 1st SG: Tee-to-Green (8.023). The 30-year-old is vying for a third TOUR victory in 110 events, second of the season, joining the AT&T Byron Nelson three starts ago (as defender), where he was T6 (3 back) at the halfway pole before going on to a 1-shot win (64-68-67-63). See link below to post-round comments.

Lee was scaring flagsticks all day as he gave himself seven scoring chances from inside of 10 feet. He converted on five of those but also scored a bonus eagle when he holed out from 152 yards at the par-4 ninth hole. The South Korean walked off the course ranked 1st in strokes gained approach (+3.924). That would put it as one of his five best measured approach rounds of his TOUR career. If this co-lead holds then it’d be his third career first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR (T13/2019 Travelers Championship; T38/2022 WM Phoenix Open). It would also be the fourth time he’s posted at T3 or better after round one this season.