Min Woo Lee's win was arguably the second-best storyline at the Houston Open

Sunday was a great day for Min Woo Lee, who held off world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and major champion Gary Woodland to win the Texas Children's Houston Open by a stroke, thus giving the 26-year-old his first PGA Tour victory in 56 tries.

With the win, Lee earned the $1.71 million victor's share of the $9.5 million purse, marking the largest paycheck of his professional career. The sum also now accounts for more than 20% of his career earnings on the PGA Tour.

With Lee rapidly becoming one of the most popular players in the game, his win was obviously a great storyline, especially with Scheffler in the mix. And Woodland being right there was heartwarming as well, as the 2019 U.S. Open champ is still just a year and a half removed from brain surgery.

All that said, however, there was another storyline brewing on Sunday at Memorial Park as Michael Kim and Ben Griffin were battling down the stretch for a spot in The Masters, a battle that ultimately came down to the 18th hole.

While Lee's victory was undoubtedly special, being his first, the Australian didn't actually need to win the Texas Children's Open, as he'd already qualified for Augusta by being in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the 2024 calendar year, ranking 49th.

Kim and Griffin were not in that position. And with the top 50 in the OWGR following the conclusion of Sunday's round earning automatic invites to the season's first major, both found themselves on the bubble entering the week, with Kim coming in ranked 52nd and Griffin coming in at No. 53.

Both made the cut, which was essential, and the race was on from there.

Michael Kim edged out Ben Griffin to earn a spot in The Masters

Teeing off roughly 30 minutes apart on opposite ends of Memorial Park (split tees were used on Sunday), Kim and Griffin stayed close throughout the day.

And while Griffin fared better over the final 18 holes, firing a solid 5-under round of 65, Kim did just enough with his 1-under 69 to get himself into The Masters.

At 3-under for the day through 14 holes, Kim didn't have it easy down the stretch, as he had to finish his round with a cracked driver and ultimately made bogeys at the 15th and 17th holes. A third dropped shot in four holes was on the table, but the 31-year-old drained a 6-foot, 9-inch par putt at the last to clinch a berth at The Masters.

One doesn't often see a fist pump from a player who ties for 32nd, but Kim clearly knew what was at stake. And with that finish, he moved from No. 52 to No. 50 in the world rankings. Griffin, who tied for 18th, moved to No. 51 with 0.5132 points separating the two.

Griffin gets one final shot to get to The Masters for the first time in his career, but he must win this week's Valero Texas Open to qualify.