Min Woo Lee goes whale ‘sighting’ in his hometown amid PGA Tour break

Min Woo Lee is away from golf after his last appearance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Lee was absent from the recent Tour Championship. After a tiring golf season, Min Woo Lee is finally spending his time in his hometown, Perth, Australia. Although he currently resides in Las Vegas, he's visiting his hometown amidst the PGA Tour break.

He shared an Instagram story on August 31 while enjoying a beach day. Lee shared a video of whales swimming quite close to people nearby in the sea. He expressed his excitement after watching the whales by simply captioning the story as:

"🐋sighting"

"📌Perth, Western Australia."

Image via Instagram-@minwoo27lee

The FedEx St. Jude Championship is one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour, boasting a $20 million prize pool and featuring only the top 70 players in the world. For Min Woo Lee, the week turned out to be one of his worst showings of the 2025 season. He opened the tournament with a rough first round, shooting 6-over par, which pushed him out of the race right away. His struggles continued with two more rounds at 2-over par each.

Lee closed with an even-par final round, but it wasn’t enough to move him up the standings. He finished last in 69th place, while Jason Day, the second-last player, still ended three strokes ahead of him.

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Min Woo Lee's journey from Perth to Las Vegas

Back in April 2025, shortly after his victory at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, Min Woo Lee opened up in a Golf Digest interview about his journey from Perth to the PGA Tour. At the time, the 26-year-old Olympian had already built a reputation as one of the longest hitters on tour. Despite weighing only 165 pounds, he averaged 325 yards off the tee and ranked third in driving distance.

Lee reflected on his early years in Perth, often described as the most remote major city in the world, with the nearest population centre over 1,200 miles away.

“Since I was a little kid, I was maybe a bit of a showoff, always trying to make someone laugh or make myself look cool,” he told Golf Digest.

In the same interview, Lee revealed he had made Las Vegas his new home, far from Western Australia. After spending his rookie season living with fellow pro Kurt Kitayama, he had built his own house near the gates of The Summit Club.

Away from competition, Lee spoke about enjoying the Vegas lifestyle. He often spent time on Fremont Street and regularly visited his favourite restaurant on The Strip, Yellowtail. The popular phrase “Let him cook,” used by fans to describe his flair around the greens, also followed him into his love for food and ordering.