Min Woo Lee isn’t old enough to be haunted by past failures (26), like the pedestrian 151 he fired over the weekend at the Players a couple of weeks back while in contention. But golf doesn’t care about your résumé, and what seemed like a breezy Sunday stroll yesterday for Lee quickly turned into an uphill battle. His five-shot lead? Poof—gone. Suddenly, he was fending off Scottie Scheffler’s heater and Gary Woodland’s surefire Full Swing Season 4 comeback. However, even a loosey-goosey back nine on Sunday couldn’t hold him back. In the end, on Sunday, Lee won his first PGA TOUR title and a little cheese to go off and cook with – $1,710,000 to be exact.
The charismatic Aussie later admitted he knew the whispers were coming—the ones questioning if his showman’s charm was just a distraction from a competitive Achilles’ heel. But golf doesn’t grade on style points; the scorecard—and whether he gets to lift a big ass trophy on the 18th green—only cares about numbers. And after a nail-biting finish, Lee turned what could’ve been a collapse into his personal redemption arc, clutching his first PGA Tour win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
“Winning a tournament was one of those goals, and I’m happy to check that off. It was tough,” Lee said. “I mean, props to the guys that win week in, week out. I mean, it is very hard—even a four-shot lead is not safe, it is tough.”
Here’s a question for those who don’t know much about Min Woo and why thousands around the world were rooting for him to hold off Scheff down the stretch: What makes him more than just another young gun with talent? Well, it’s his electric connection with fans. His game mirrors that of Sahith Theegala, another rising star—equally young, equally talented, equally emotional, and exciting between the lines. With a massive social media following and a heart-on-his-sleeve personality, Lee isn’t just playing—he’s performing.
That said, while he had been putting together solid results (four top-20 finishes in six starts this season), there was one glaring omission on his résumé: a U.S. win. And with his rising fame, people started to wonder—was he more of an internet sensation than a serious contender? The murmurs weren’t deafening, but they were there. Fair or not, the brighter the spotlight, the heavier the expectations.
Well, Houston answered that. Lee didn’t just survive—he thrived, proving he’s got the game to match the hype. And now? The biggest stage of them all looms: Augusta National in two weeks. That test will come soon enough.
Winners & Losers from Sunday at the Houston Open:
- Winner: Min Woo Lee. Sure, he had a five-finger lead at one point in the final round, but when he hit his tee shot a Houston country mile right into the drink on the 16th, even our hearts skipped a beat. Were we about to see another world-class collapse from a leader down the stretch, which has become common on tour this season? Nope. Lee pulled off the victory and in grand style on 18, getting up and down from 60 ft.
- Loser: Alejandro Tosti. Reports came out yesterday afternoon that Tosti was being testy with his final group playing partners, Ryan Fox and eventual winner Lee. Boo, hoo. Testy Tosti fell three spots down the leaderboard after shooting a pedestrian 2-under final round.
- Winner: Michael Kim. Kim played well enough last week to maintain his position in the Top 50 of the OWGR and gain an invitation from Augusta. He’s been playing some good golf and deserves his 2nd invite to golf’s version of Heaven.
- Loser: Mason Anderson. He precipitously dropped 37 spots on the board Sunday after firing a wallet-busting 5-over 75.
- Winner: Rico Hoey. Rico (love the name!) made the biggest jump Sunday, leaping 24 spots on the board. He finished up T-11 and took home $211k after firing a six-under, 64 final round.
2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open Prize Money Payouts
| Position | Player | Score | Earnings |
| 1 | Min Woo Lee | -20 | $1,710,000 |
| T2 | Gary Woodland | -19 | $845,500 |
| T2 | Scottie Scheffler | -19 | $845,500 |
| 4 | Sami Valimaki | -17 | $465,500 |
| T5 | Wyndham Clark | -15 | $337,844 |
| T5 | Rory McIlroy | -15 | $337,844 |
| T5 | Taylor Pendrith | -15 | $337,844 |
| T5 | Alejandro Tosti | -15 | $337,844 |
| 9 | Ryan Gerard | -14 | $277,875 |
| 10 | Mackenzie Hughes | -13 | $258,875 |
| T11 | Rico Hoey | -12 | $211,375 |
| T11 | Lee Hodges | -12 | $211,375 |
| T11 | Isaiah Salinda | -12 | $211,375 |
| T11 | Stephan Jaeger | -12 | $211,375 |
| T15 | Eric Cole | -11 | $163,875 |
| T15 | Hayden Springer | -11 | $163,875 |
| T15 | Ryan Fox | -11 | $163,875 |
| T18 | Ben Griffin | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Sam Stevens | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Harry Hall | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Victor Perez | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Joel Dahmen | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Chris Gotterup | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Harris English | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Kevin Yu | -10 | $108,987 |
| T18 | Keith Mitchell | -10 | $108,987 |
| T27 | Jason Day | -9 | $67,925 |
| T27 | Nate Lashley | -9 | $67,925 |
| T27 | Davis Thompson | -9 | $67,925 |
| T27 | Jake Knapp | -9 | $67,925 |
| T27 | Jesper Svensson | -9 | $67,925 |
| T32 | Charlie Reiter | -8 | $51,911 |
| T32 | Maverick McNealy | -8 | $51,911 |
| T32 | Chandler Phillips | -8 | $51,911 |
| T32 | Tony Finau | -8 | $51,911 |
| T32 | Michael Kim | -8 | $51,911 |
| T32 | Rasmus Hojgaard | -8 | $51,911 |
| T32 | Nico Echavarria | -8 | $51,911 |
| T39 | Chan Kim | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Matteo Manassero | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Taylor Dickson | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Mac Meissner | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Adam Hadwin | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Kurt Kitayama | -7 | $36,575 |
| T39 | Trey Mullinax | -7 | $36,575 |
| T47 | Chad Ramey | -6 | $25,593 |
| T47 | Ryo Hisatsune | -6 | $25,593 |
| T47 | Emiliano Grillo | -6 | $25,593 |
| T47 | Thomas Detry | -6 | $25,593 |
| T47 | William Mouw | -6 | $25,593 |
| T52 | Trevor Cone | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | Davis Riley | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | David Skinns | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | Rickie Fowler | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | Pierceson Coody | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | Matt McCarty | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | Patrick Rodgers | -5 | $22,302 |
| T52 | Jackson Suber | -5 | $22,302 |
| 60 | Sungjae Im | -4 | $21,375 |
| T61 | Matthew Riedel | -3 | $20,995 |
| T61 | Sam Ryder | -3 | $20,995 |
| T61 | Mason Andersen | -3 | $20,995 |
| T64 | Antoine Rozner | -2 | $20,425 |
| T64 | Charley Hoffman | -2 | $20,425 |
| T64 | Philip Knowles | -2 | $20,425 |
| T67 | Sahith Theegala | -1 | $19,950 |
| T67 | Adam Svensson | -1 | $19,950 |
| 69 | John Pak | E | $19,665 |
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