HE has long been touted as a player to challenge the world’s best, with Min Woo Lee delivering on that potential with a win at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Lee shot rounds of 66-64-63-67 for a 20-under-par total around the Memorial Park course in winning by one shot and holding off the challenge of former US Open champion Gary Woodland and World Number one Scottie Scheffler.
It was the 26-year-old Lee’s first PGA TOUR victory, in his 56th tour start.
He was the eighth Australian winner of the Texas Children’s Houston Open and first since Matt Jones in 2014.
“I’m super proud to win,” Lee said in the post-event press conference. “It was just a very tough week. It was one of those weeks where I think just everything aligned. I’m so proud to be the winner of the trophy.”
Along with the Houston Open trophy, Lee moved to number 22 on the Official World Golf Rankings list, his career-high and his first time inside the top 25.
Despite his slight frame, Lee continued to amaze with his power off the tee, averaging over 315 yards per drive in Houston, while he also ranked second in the field in Putts per GIR, and first in birdies made.
Lee would contest the US Masters two weeks later, where he made the 36-hole cut before finishing 49th on four-over par for the tournament.
McIlroy joins an exclusive club
WHEN Rory McIlroy rolled in a short birdie putt on the first play-off hole at Augusta National to claim the Masters green jacket, he etched his name into the annals of golf history by becoming only the sixth player ever to complete the career Grand Slam – the Masters, US Open, The Open and the PGA Championship.
Jack Nicklaus
Majors won: 18 (Masters 6, US Open 4; The Open 3, US PGA 5)
Pro wins: 126
PGA Tour wins: 73
Aged achieved Grand Slam: 26
Wins to complete Gram Slam: US Open 1962; the Masters 1963; US PGA 1963; The Open 1966
Tiger Woods
Majors won: 15 (Masters 5, US Open 3; The Open 3, US PGA 4)
Pro wins: 149
PGA Tour wins: 82
Aged achieved Grand Slam: 24
Wins to complete Gram Slam: Masters 1997; US PGA 1999; US Open and The Open in 2000
Ben Hogan.
Ben Hogan
Majors won: 9 (Masters 2, US Open 4; The Open 1, US PGA 2)
Pro wins: 71
PGA Tour wins: 64
Aged achieved Grand Slam: 41
Wins to complete Gram Slam: US PGA 1946; US Open 1948; the Masters 1951; The Open 1953
Gary Player
Majors won: 9 (Masters 3, US Open 1; The Open 3, US PGA 2)
Pro wins: 159
PGA Tour wins: 24
Aged achieved Grand Slam: 29
Wins to complete Gram Slam: The Open 1959; Masters 1961, US PGA 1962; US Open 1965
Gene Sarazen
Majors won: 7 (Masters 1, US Open 2; The Open 1, US PGA 3)
Pro wins: 48
PGA Tour wins: 38
Aged achieved Grand Slam: 33
Wins to complete Gram Slam: US Open 1922; US PGA 1922; The Open 1932; the Masters 1935
Rory McIlroy
Majors won: 5 (Masters 1, US Open 1; The Open 1, US PGA 2)
Pro wins: 44
PGA Tour wins: 29
Aged achieved Grand Slam: 35
Wins to complete Gram Slam: US Open 2011, US PGA 2012; The Open 2014; Masters 2025
– Compiled by David Newbery
It’s a crazy game
IN the April edition of Inside Golf we documented the recent struggles experienced by Viktor Hovland.
Arguably the best player in the world at the end of the 2023 season, Hovland made some changes to his game and battled to find the form which saw him win the FedEx Cup and three PGA TOUR events throughout the year.
However, in backing up the phrase that form is temporary, class is permanent, while emphasising what a crazy game golf can be, Hovland bounced back in style with an impressive win in the Valspar Championship in Florida in late March.
He wasn’t convinced he was all the way back to a time when seemingly in contention every week, although beating Justin Thomas down the stretch in a Sunday showdown, for Hovland there was certainly some light at the end of what had been a reasonably dark tunnel.
“It’s been quite the struggle the past year and a half, so for me to come back and win this tournament is quite incredible,” Hovland expressed following his Valspar victory.
“I was not very hopeful with my game leading into this week and just goes to show this game is pretty crazy.”
Hovland’s win at the Valspar came just one week after posting 80 on the opening day of The Players to be last amongst the 144-man field.
“I mean, shooting 80 is never fun, especially at THE PLAYERS Championship,” an honest and forthright Hovland said.
Hovland backed up his win with a tie for 21st at The Masters.
Short game guru Pelz passes away
A Nasa scientist who became one of the most successful coaches in the history of golf, Dave Pelz passed away on March 23, aged 85.
A master of the short game, Pelz students won more than 20 major championship titles between them.
The top players flocked to Pelz, included amongst them Tom Kite, Vijay Singh, Payne Stewart, Mike Weir, Patrick Reed, Michelle Wie and Colin Montgomerie. But his most successful pupil was Phil Mickelson, who first asked for lessons in 2003.
Arguably golf’s most celebrated short game coach Dave Pelz recently passed away, aged 85.
Up to that point, Mickelson had around 20 tournament wins but was winless in 43 majors. The Pelz effect was immediate, and in the next three years he won the Masters twice and the US PGA once. He would go on to win three more majors, including the Open Championship in 2013.
David Thomas Pelz was born on October 8 1939 in Indianapolis and attended Indiana University on a four-year golf scholarship, majoring physics. During his student years he reportedly played Jack Nicklaus 22 times – and lost every round.
In 1999, he published Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible, while the following year’s Dave Pelz’s Putting Bible sold more than 150,000 copies in its first 12 months on the market.
An amateur standout, winning the NSW Amateur and Australian Medal in 1988, before going down in the final of the 1990 Australian Amateur Championship, Rob Willis turned professional in 1992, playing the Australasian and Asian Tours, with his highlight being his victory in the 1995 Dubai Creek Open and third placing at the European Tour's Dubai Dessert Classic. A former Editor of Golf Australia Magazine, Willis, who ventured away from golf for a period to be the media manager for the NRL's Cronulla Sharks, has been a contributor to PGA Australia's PGA Magazine for over a decade and for Inside Golf since its first edition back in 2005. 
