DETROIT, Mich. — The scoring-friendly environment and healthy green grass at Detroit Golf Club is a welcome sight for PGA Tour golfer Min Woo Lee after grinding through Pinehurst No. 2 in his last event, the U.S. Open.
Lee finished 5 over in the U.S. Open then skipped the Traveler’s Championship last week to prepare for his first stop at the Rocket Mortgage Classic from his house in Las Vegas. Lee, a tour rookie ranked No. 64 in the FedEx Cup standings, is ready for the new environment on Detroit’s northside after grinding through one of the toughest courses on the Tour this season.
“The course looks amazing,” said Lee, an Australian native. “Coming from the U.S. Open, it’s a bit greener so it’s quite nice. Hopefully the weather holds.”
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Lee, one of the top-ranked players in the 156-player field set to tee off Thursday, spoke to the media Tuesday after a torrential thunderstorm pounded the course with rain for most of the morning and partially delayed proceedings.
The thick rough and “luscious” greens, as Lee described them, received an extra amount of water two days before the tournament begins due to the two-hour thunderstorm. But the sea of green was a welcome sight for Lee, who spent the last fortnight training in the unrelenting Vegas heat after playing a challenging and dried-out Pinehurst.
“If we played (Pinehurst) every week, I’d probably have no hair by now,” the 25-year-old rookie said. “It’s nice to just come to a course that’s really green and luscious.”
The relative ease of Detroit Golf Club’s setup leads to a lower scoring environment for the Rocket Mortgage Classic compared to some other PGA Tour stops. Rickie Fowler won the 2023 tournament at 24 under after surviving a three-man playoff and 2022 winner Tony Finau shot 26 under.
“I find making birdies fun; bogeys aren’t fun,” Lee said.
The key to going low, he said, was to be accurate off the tee with his driver. Despite not playing here before, the scouting report Lee received from the Tour and other players he’s talked to said low scores are possible if you can be aggressive and straight with the biggest club in the bag.
“It’s a course where you can hit driver a lot and take advantage of a lot of corners,” Lee said. “I guess take advantage if you do hit driver well. Hopefully, I can do that this week.”
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