2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic: Top 10 power rankings at Detroit Golf Club

Min Woo Lee might be playing with a chip on his shoulder.

The Travelers Championship didn’t let him cook last week, denying him a sponsor’s exemption into the Signature Event while past-their-prime players like Webb Simpson continue to vacuum up sponsor’s exemptions.

The top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking are exempt into Signature Events. Lee fell just outside the cutoff at No. 36.

Lee was coming off T-21st in his last start at the U.S. Open and finished T-9th at last year’s Travelers. Not to mention he’s developing a small cult-like following due to his occasional pre-tournament hype videos echoing his “Let him cook” mantra.

While the Aussie and his backers might be miffed at the slight, a week off to decompress from Pinehurst No. 2 can’t hurt.

Lee could use the time off to brush up on Detroit Golf Club.

He’s set to make his Rocket Mortgage Classic debut in 2024.

Lee, the brother of multi-major champion on the LPGA, Minjee, is poised to break out, too. He’s missed just one cut all year and took T-2nd at The Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.

Lee is no stranger to winning big events. He’s a three-time champ on the DP World Tour. The highlight was his 2021 triumph at the Abrdn Scottish Open. That was the last year before the event was co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour. It still had a bevy of big names spanning both tours in the field, including Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Xander Schauffele all in the top 10.

Lee is a good course fit for DGC as he’s eighth on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (.69).

The 25-year-old has whip-like club head speed (5th, 124.63 miles per hour) allowing him to rank fourth in driving distance (314 yards) without getting wayward. Lee’s 26th in driving accuracy (68.11%).

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