Min Woo Lee has hit back at a social media post appearing to undermine his golfing earnings after it emerged Scottie Scheffler's caddie is in line to pocket a higher salary for 2024.
The Australian golfer was name-checked alongside Jordan Speith by Golf Digest in a post comparing their earnings this year. While there was nothing sinister, it appeared to poke fun at the golfing pair's efforts to earn a decent living.
The post read: "Assuming Scheffler pays Ted Scott 10 per cent, Scott has earned $2.9m this year, which would place him 56th on the PGA Tour money list ahead of players like Jordan Speith and Min Woo Lee."
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According to CBS Sports, Lee has earned $2.52m in 2024 from his golfing career, putting him 63rd on the money list. Speith is just ahead of him on $2.73m, which suggests Golf Digest's figures could be accurate.
But judging by his comments under the Instagram post, the 26-year-old clearly felt he had been unfairly targeted in the social media graphic.
"Golfdigest admin throwing me under the bus," Lee wrote. He then added another comment which read: "Woozy catching strays."
All of which is to say, it looks like Lee will be around for the long-term. But as a marketable player in the growing golf industry, Lee could boost his earnings outside of the sport to ease the financial burden on him to place higher up in tournaments.
Despite his care-free approach to social media, Lee has said there is nothing deliberate in his marketing strategy and manages his social media by himself.
“I just love doing social media and trying to make it fun," he said in an interview with Hypebeast in 2023. "I don’t have a social media manager or anything like that. I just do it myself and try to make it fun for everyone who follows me.”
Golf fans will be able to see Lee is in action in his native Australia after he committed to playing in the Australian Open golf championship in Melbourne in November.
Given his relatively young age, it remains a possibility that Lee will have the last laugh in the not-too-distant future.
His social media antics have endeared him to the 'Gen Z' audience that has caught onto golf, especially with his TikTok videos. His unique mullet haircut - somewhat distincitive in comparison to his golf colleagues - has also set him apart from the rest.
Born in Australia to Korean immigrants, Lee is in the midst of a breakout season on the PGA Tour. He secured a Special Temporary Membership earlier in the season with strong performances at The Players and PGA Championship.
