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AUSTIN, Texas — Wednesday’s match was a reunion of sorts for Min Woo Lee and Sahith Theegala.
The last time they went at it on a golf course, both were a couple of exuberant 17-year-olds battling as amateurs in a junior event at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington, in 2017.
Theegala, a striking figure at 6-3 who would go on to be a three-time All-American at Pepperdine where he won four tournaments and every award there is to win, got the better of Lee in a playoff in their only other head-to-head matchup.
“Oh, that was a really long time ago. Thanks for reminding me,” Lee said playfully. “But I guess this one mattered the most.”
A 1-up win with a 3-foot birdie on the 18th hole in the opening day of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play meant plenty to Lee, a 24-year-old Aussie who has two wins on the DP World Tour but is trying to gain his PGA Tour card through the Special Temporary Membership, which would grant him unlimited sponsor exemptions. A victory here would gain him a five-year membership to the Tour.
With six birdies, two eagles and a pair of double bogeys, Lee had a remarkable round along with his opponent in what may have been the best match of the day.
He and Theegala put on a show for the fans on this cloudy, muggy day to start the final WGC-Dell event at Austin Country Club. They were just the second pairing of the day but went back and forth before Lee birdied the last two holes after going 1 down on the 16th.
“It was a highlight reel all day,” said Lee, who is competing here for the second straight year after failing to get out of group play in 2022 with a 1-1-1 record.
That it was.
This won’t be the last you hear of these two. Theegala has soared to a No. 29 World ranking on the strength of a fourth-place tie at the Players Championship on the heels of a 14th-place finish at Bay Hill. He also has two other top 10s at the Genesis Invitational and the Farmers Insurance Open.
He’s a strong player with super makeup and a great track record. He made an appearance on Netflix’s “Full Swing.” And he could pose as Tony Finau’s stunt double. He won the Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Haskins awards — only the fifth to ever do so — and probably a few others he can’t even remember.
Lee already has made a name for himself, too, even if he is drafting off the name of his more famous, older sister. He doesn’t mind riding the coattails of Minjee Lee, who has won two majors, including…
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