Min Woo Lee might be the only PGA Tour player who needs his own dictionary. Take a quick scroll through the 25-year-old’s Instagram feed and you’ll stumble upon some perplexing words and phrases: “Let Him Cook,” “Dr. Chipinski,” “Flopadopalous,” “Yes Chef.” The list goes on.
As he begins his first year as a full PGA Tour member, Lee’s eclectic captions and viral posts have come to define his personal brand. Flashy highlight reels spliced together with booming rap lyrics and TikTok meme snippets have arguably been just as impactful as Lee’s five worldwide wins. The Australian’s distinct look has effortless Gen-Z appeal. Lee’s racer sunglasses, mock neck polo, mullet and mustache set him apart from the pack.
So as Lee was busy collecting international trophies this fall, he was also witnessing the signs of his rise to internet stardom. Chef hats were sprinkled among Lee’s galleries at the Australian PGA Championship—which he won by three shots for his second victory in six weeks.
Now ranked No. 37 in the world, the Australia native is prepared to cook up his biggest year yet. And, evidently, the new year has come with new opportunities. On Friday, Lee was announced as a Lululemon brand ambassador. (Don’t fret—the mock neck is here to stay.)
Sports Illustrated caught up with Lee to discuss the new apparel sponsorship, the origins of his infamous “Let Him Cook” catchphrase, his dream social media collaborators and more.
Andy Cheung/Getty Images
Sports Illustrated: What drew you to Lululemon?
Min Woo Lee: It was really the moral part of the brand. Under Lululemon shirts, you’ll notice there’s a little motto written on the fabric. I think that’s really cool. Looking at that slogan right before you put it on—it motivates you. I think their connection with their community is great. I did mention to them that “Let Him Cook” on the inside of the shirts would be pretty awesome … in the near future, there might be a couple items that might have my name on them or are around my name. I’m really excited to be part of the designing process.
SI: How does your style go hand in hand with performance?
MWL: It’s huge. You’re in front of cameras and a lot of people, so you want to feel good and look good. I have the motto of “look good, feel good, play good.” You don’t want to be wearing clothes that you don’t feel good in. Everyone has that outfit they wear on a night out—you start to feel yourself a little bit. When I’m out on the course and I do wear fits that I love, I have that bounce in my step. I have that swagger. It’s definitely a big deal, with the fashion world coming into the golfing world.
SI: Golf fashion has been a hot topic with the recent debut of Jason Day’s Malbon Golf partnership. Do you hope to create the same amount of buzz with your style?
MWL: Obviously Jason is wearing the baggy pants, which is not very usual. But I think I got some traction over the last year with the mock neck and bringing it back to the game. Not many pros wear it. So I think if I debut something like that—I think it’s going to look pretty neat. I don’t think it’s going to be as controversial as Jason’s pants, but I’m hopefully going to play well and make a name for the golfing side of Lululemon.
SI: At what point did you realize how big your name was getting as an up-and-coming viral star on the PGA Tour?
MWL: I think it kind of all started around The Players Championship, when I was in the final group with Scottie Scheffler. I was the underdog. I had just barely made it into the tournament. I was the last person to get in. So it was nice to get close to the lead and have a good chance of winning. Ever since then, the PGA Tour media guys—Mohammed Saqib and Jake Ludwig—they’ve done such a good job with a few of my videos and they’ve gone viral. People have loved them. Half of the social media side is props to them. I try to be as authentic and as real as I can be. A lot of golfers only do their thing and don’t do the social media side as well as they can. I really enjoy that side of things. I’ve done it since I was young.
SI: How are those hype videos made?
MWL: The PGA Tour media guys have a great vision. Jake is young. Mohammed is young. Half of my videos have some sort of meme or catch phrase in them. They only record me for 2-3 holes during the practice round, but they manage to get the shots and make them look cool. Jake is the one with the camera, he does a really good job. Then they post the video on an app, and I look at it. I say “yes” or “no” or if I want any tweaks. A couple of them I’ll tweak, and then a couple of them I’ve just kept the same and I post them. It’s actually very simple. They make it easy for me. I just try to make a good caption and pick good music.
SI: Let’s set the record straight: Where did your catchphrase “Let Him Cook” come from?
MWL: It started in a few of my posts, randomly. I don’t know if someone commented it or I said it. Since then, every time I’ve posted it’s been something to do with “Let Him Cook” or “Chef,” which came after that. It’s nice to have something to relate to me, or something that I started. For the people that don’t know what it means, it means “Let him do his thing” or “he’s doing well.” It just kicked off and kept going. I play a lot of “Call of Duty.” If you Google “Let Him Cook,” it’ll say it comes from the gaming world or music videos. I’m not really sure what it is, but hopefully I can override that and they can say that I made it a bit more famous.
SI: Who is your dream social media collaboration?
MWL: Over the past year I’ve actually gotten to meet and talk to a lot of people, like Steph Curry. He loves his golf. That collab would be pretty cool. A couple of the famous gamers and streamers I’ve started to talk to, too—I’ve played “Call of Duty” with them. Tiger would be a cool one. We haven’t talked since I met him at the Sage Valley Junior Invitational. Actually, Justin Bieber posted about golf the other day. I commented, “Do you need any tips?” I haven’t gotten a message back yet.
SI: Where do you get your humor?
MWL: The humor definitely comes from my dad. He’s 50-whatever years old, but he’s probably 20 in his heart. And I’m a 25-year-old who is probably 13 in the heart. That’s why I’m such a prankster. He pranks me to this day.
SI: Speaking of family, your sister Minjee is a 10-time winner on the LPGA Tour and a two-time major champion. What have you learned from her?
MWL: My sister is awesome. On the golf course she’s robotic. It’s kind of scary how she doesn’t let anything get to her. When I speak to her about that, she does get a little angry. I’m like, “Do you swear?” and she’ll say, “Yeah, on the inside.” She doesn’t let emotions show on the outside, which I love. I’m the complete opposite. She’s the quiet and reserved person, and I’m the loud and annoying kid. When she’s winning, she’s mellow with her attitude. That’s what I need to do.
SI: Your speed is a defining part of your game—have you always been a big hitter? Is it still a point of focus for you?
MWL: It was always natural. When I was a kid I was pretty good, so I was always playing against people older than me. They were hitting distances that I couldn’t get to as a 12 or 13 year-old, so I had to generate speed somehow. I do gym work to stay strong and flexible. It’s a fun attribute to have, but nowadays I’m trying to hit it straighter—trying to dial it back a little and make my swing more consistent. But when there’s a wide fairway, it is fun to just step up and smack it.
SI: What advice would you give to the average amateur trying to pick up speed off the tee?
MWL: You should stand a little wider and take your backswing a little bit wider. You want to hit up on the ball so it doesn’t spin backwards. You want the ball to launch in an optimal way. And then lastly, go to the gym. Those things will help you pick up 10 yards.
SI: Going into 2024, what are your short term and long term goals?
MWL: The Olympics, the Presidents Cup—those are teams I want to make. I keep those in the back of my head so I can really lock in. I also really wanted to be top 30 in the world rankings late last year. I got really close to that. I still think of myself as a little kid, but it’s a nice reality check to see that I’m around the 30th ranked golfer in the world. There are those types of goals, and then there are statistical goals that I have. My putting from 15-20 feet isn’t as good as it should be. My approach game needs to be a little bit better, and I’ve noticed that it’s improving.
SI: What is it like tracking your world ranking and seeing your name jump up a few spots every week?
MWL: It’s something you can get carried away with, so you just have to let the golf do the talking. That fixes most things. I look at it now and then … no, I’m joking, I look at it pretty much every week when it refreshes on Monday. Yeah, I think it’s a lie when people say they don’t look at their world ranking. They probably look at it.
