Who is Min Woo Lee’s coach?

Australia’s man of the moment has captured the attention of golf fans around the world, so who is Min Woo Lee’s coach?

With a vibrant personality and seriously impressive golf swing, the Australian has become a fan favourite, while his golf has done the talking, too.

A multiple winner on the DP World Tour, Min Woo Lee looks cut out for the big occasion and earned his PGA Tour card for the first time in 2023.

With a bright future ahead, his coach Ritchie Smith will be keen to eke out even more from Lee’s game in the coming years.

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Min Woo Lee’s coach

Born in Perth in 1998, Min Woo Lee only turned professional at the start of 2019, but he has already enjoyed a meteoric rise in the game.

Brother of major champion Minjee Lee, he claimed his first title at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in 2021 before claiming the Abrdn Scottish Open in 2022.

His most important win, though, came on home soil at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, as he debuted the chef hat celebration.

With a large social media presence, Min Woo has been helped along the way and into the public eye by his coach Ritchie Smith.

After his Viking clap engagement with the crowd went viral, Smith told ABC Grandstand: “The Min Woo I know is exactly the one that you see on the TV.

“I think he’s just being authentic to the person that he is. I’m really happy that he’s being himself and he actually gets a real buzz from that sort of thing.

“That’s the sort of person that he is. He’s trying to engage and he’s trying to bring people through the gates and he’s trying to have fun while he’s doing it, and I think it’s working.

“I think people really love him.”

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The pair, who work together at Royal Fremantle Golf Club, joined forces when Lee was 14 years old, and an inevitable rise to the top was on the cards.

He won the US Junior Amateur title in 2016 but has taken his game to new levels since moving into the professional ranks.

His personality has challenged Smith, though, who claimed Min Woo has been hard to teach.

“He’s fun, he’s exciting. He’s painful sometimes as well, in that he doesn’t train the way that I like him to train,

“He was always the kid that was at the other end of the driving range away from me, trying to play shots around trees and compete with his mates.”

But the longtime PGA professional has succeeded in getting the best out of his pupil.

The founder and Head Coach of the Perth Golf Academy, Smith has coached numerous top talents, including Oliver Goss, Low Amateur champion at the US Masters, and Minjee Lee.