Lee takes lessons from Masters champion McIlRoy
Murray Wenzel |
Min Woo Lee was battling his own Masters demons while keeping a close eye on how Rory McIlroy exorcised his.
And the Australian left Augusta National with plenty after the Northern Irishman emerged battered, bruised but victorious on Sunday following an 11-year hunt for golf’s career grand slam.
Lee, who finished 49th at six-over, and mentor Jason Day (equal eighth at five under) were the only two Australians to make the cut, out of five who began the tournament, before McIlroy’s see-sawing triumph over Justin Rose in a playoff.
McIlroy is the first man since Tiger Woods in 2000 to win all four major titles, a hunt that’s stretched back to 2014 after he’d won his first four in quick time.
While Lee counts Day as one of his closest friends on tour he said McIlroy, nine years his senior at 35, had been in his corner too.
“He doesn’t owe me anything, but he’s been a really nice guy,” Lee said of McIlroy, who was 21 when he lost a four-shot lead on the back nine to miss his Masters chance in 2011.
“I see him most tournaments and play practice rounds. If I have lunch he would sit next to me, and I’ll be shocked, like, ‘Why are you sitting next to me?’
“But he’s kind of that bloke. He gets a lot of bad media coverage. He’s played wonderfully over the last 10, 20 years, and I think what he’s done has been very underrated.
“His expectations and everyone else’s expectation is to win everything, win tournaments when he’s up there, but it’s so tough.
“To be there for the last 10 years, No.1, No.2, three in the world, you’ve just got to clap your hands to that. The longevity and also just the consistency is unbelievable.”
Lee now knows what winning on the PGA Tour feels like after his victory in Houston last month that he admits took an emotional toll.
After he’d been positioned to make a weekend run in the Masters at one under through two rounds, Lee shot a five-over 77 on Saturday that included a one stroke penalty when his ball moved after he addressed it on the fairway.
A pace of play warning midway through that third round also rattled him, he said.
He watches tournaments avidly while playing in them and said observing how McIlroy handles the pressure of contending week in, week out, was helping him.
“In Houston, I had this comfort of not letting too much get into my head,” Lee said.
“I think Rory talked about this yesterday (before his final round), where he’s in his own bubble.
“He can’t do anything, he can’t control anything and he’s just in his bubble, doing one shot at a time.
“At The Players (where Lee shared a 36-hole lead) you get ahead of yourself and you hit average shots and you beat yourself up a little bit.
“All the other stuff is great, supporters and fans, but you have … the process that you stick to.”
Lee will play the RBC Heritage in South Carolina this week before taking a fortnight off.
“I haven’t taken two weeks off since the beginning of the year and mentally I’m probably not as fresh as I probably should have been,” he said.
“But I’d rather a win than be fresh.”
AAP
