Min Woo inspired by Minjee to shoot course record 63
Min Woo Lee has tipped his hat to brilliant sister Minjee following her latest major-winning exploit - and it seemed like the inspiration behind his dazzling nine-under 63 in the first round of the Rocket Classic in Detroit.
Lee equalled the course record at the Detroit Golf Club as he made a fantastic start in a bid to lift his second PGA Tour title on Thursday.
But the 26-year-old perhaps knew where the thanks were due after he got a surprise pep talk from big sister Minjee following her third major championship success in the Women's PGA in Texas at the weekend.
Lee revealed before teeing off that he had had a call from 29-year-old Minjee - and it evidently worked wonders for a man who hasn't been playing his best of late.
"Normally, she doesn't check up on me, but it was actually quite nice to get a call from her," said little brother Min Woo.
"I was like, 'did you butt dial me? What's going on?' She's like, 'No, I just wanted to check in.' I was like, 'oh, okay'. She's awesome.
"I think she had a bit of a night on Sunday with a few of her friends. I think they all had a week off this week, so it's good to see her in a nice mental space and happy on the course.
"She was going through a tough patch the last couple of years, so it's nice to see her have her swagger back.
"I don't think she learns that much off me. I try to learn off her. She's just a beast when she's playing good.
"She just doesn't do much wrong and you just see that step in her walk. You know she's comfortable with her game and you know she's got control. She's already a ball striker, so it's quite cool to see her walk the walk. It's a very cool thing. We're trying to play as good as we can."
Something clearly rubbed off, though, as Min Woo, starting on the back nine, opened with birdie and then a bogey on Thursday before beginning a spectacular run that featured nine birdies over the next 16 holes.
His three straight birdies to finish the round left him a shot ahead of American Andrew Putman among the early wave, while South African big hitter Aldrich Potgieter was also threatening to post a superb opening round as he lay eight under after just a dozen holes.
Lee Hodges and Zach Johnson were both on seven under after rounds of 65.
Lee is out to add to his one PGA Tour win, which came in March, but he's struggled since that victory in the Houston Open, missing the cut at both the PGA Championship and US Open.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
22 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Teenager Pretorius hits century on S Africa Test debut
Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius has scored 153 on his debut and Corbin Bosch an unbeaten maiden century as a much-changed South Africa reached 9-418 for nine on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. After electing to bat, South Africa were in early trouble at 4-55 with the ball nipping around in the fresh morning conditions, but Pretorius, 19, put on 95 for the fifth wicket with fellow debutant Dewald Brevis (51) to change the course of the innings. He said: "It was amazing. I was quite nervous (when I walked in). I'm glad (the debut is) over. We knew they only had two seamers and we knew we could take the spinners out of the attack. I just love batting, fortunately it worked out for me today." Bosch's late burst provided a first test century for the all-rounder as he finished unbeaten on 100 from 124 balls and will resume on the second day with Kwena Maphaka, who has nine. The touring side have only four starters from the side who won the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's this month, with several players rested and captain Temba Bavuma unavailable due to injury. Pretorius's153 came from 160 balls as the left-hander became the youngest South African to score a century on a Test debut, hitting 11 fours and four sixes. Zimbabwe twice felt they had him caught behind, but with no third umpire in operation for the two-game series, their vociferous appeals were turned down with no way to challenge the decisions. Seamer Tanaka Chivanga got early joy for the hosts with an excellent spell of bowling, picking up three wickets in the first session and adding the prized scalp of Pretorius for figures of 4-83. The South African youngster tried to pull a steep bouncer from Chivanga but succeeded only in skying the ball to Wellington Masakadza at mid-on. Chivanga removed openers Tony de Zorzi (0) and Matthew Breetzke (13), and David Bedingham (0) in his first spell, bringing Pretorius to the wicket with the score on 23. Wiaan Mulder (17) looked in good touch before he was run out chasing a quick single, but Brevis and Pretorius shared a quickfire 95-run partnership in 86 balls to swing the momentum South Africa's way. Kyle Verreynne (10) came and went cheaply, before Pretorius and Bosch added 108 for the seventh wicket to put the tourists firmly in control. Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius has scored 153 on his debut and Corbin Bosch an unbeaten maiden century as a much-changed South Africa reached 9-418 for nine on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. After electing to bat, South Africa were in early trouble at 4-55 with the ball nipping around in the fresh morning conditions, but Pretorius, 19, put on 95 for the fifth wicket with fellow debutant Dewald Brevis (51) to change the course of the innings. He said: "It was amazing. I was quite nervous (when I walked in). I'm glad (the debut is) over. We knew they only had two seamers and we knew we could take the spinners out of the attack. I just love batting, fortunately it worked out for me today." Bosch's late burst provided a first test century for the all-rounder as he finished unbeaten on 100 from 124 balls and will resume on the second day with Kwena Maphaka, who has nine. The touring side have only four starters from the side who won the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's this month, with several players rested and captain Temba Bavuma unavailable due to injury. Pretorius's153 came from 160 balls as the left-hander became the youngest South African to score a century on a Test debut, hitting 11 fours and four sixes. Zimbabwe twice felt they had him caught behind, but with no third umpire in operation for the two-game series, their vociferous appeals were turned down with no way to challenge the decisions. Seamer Tanaka Chivanga got early joy for the hosts with an excellent spell of bowling, picking up three wickets in the first session and adding the prized scalp of Pretorius for figures of 4-83. The South African youngster tried to pull a steep bouncer from Chivanga but succeeded only in skying the ball to Wellington Masakadza at mid-on. Chivanga removed openers Tony de Zorzi (0) and Matthew Breetzke (13), and David Bedingham (0) in his first spell, bringing Pretorius to the wicket with the score on 23. Wiaan Mulder (17) looked in good touch before he was run out chasing a quick single, but Brevis and Pretorius shared a quickfire 95-run partnership in 86 balls to swing the momentum South Africa's way. Kyle Verreynne (10) came and went cheaply, before Pretorius and Bosch added 108 for the seventh wicket to put the tourists firmly in control. Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius has scored 153 on his debut and Corbin Bosch an unbeaten maiden century as a much-changed South Africa reached 9-418 for nine on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. After electing to bat, South Africa were in early trouble at 4-55 with the ball nipping around in the fresh morning conditions, but Pretorius, 19, put on 95 for the fifth wicket with fellow debutant Dewald Brevis (51) to change the course of the innings. He said: "It was amazing. I was quite nervous (when I walked in). I'm glad (the debut is) over. We knew they only had two seamers and we knew we could take the spinners out of the attack. I just love batting, fortunately it worked out for me today." Bosch's late burst provided a first test century for the all-rounder as he finished unbeaten on 100 from 124 balls and will resume on the second day with Kwena Maphaka, who has nine. The touring side have only four starters from the side who won the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's this month, with several players rested and captain Temba Bavuma unavailable due to injury. Pretorius's153 came from 160 balls as the left-hander became the youngest South African to score a century on a Test debut, hitting 11 fours and four sixes. Zimbabwe twice felt they had him caught behind, but with no third umpire in operation for the two-game series, their vociferous appeals were turned down with no way to challenge the decisions. Seamer Tanaka Chivanga got early joy for the hosts with an excellent spell of bowling, picking up three wickets in the first session and adding the prized scalp of Pretorius for figures of 4-83. The South African youngster tried to pull a steep bouncer from Chivanga but succeeded only in skying the ball to Wellington Masakadza at mid-on. Chivanga removed openers Tony de Zorzi (0) and Matthew Breetzke (13), and David Bedingham (0) in his first spell, bringing Pretorius to the wicket with the score on 23. Wiaan Mulder (17) looked in good touch before he was run out chasing a quick single, but Brevis and Pretorius shared a quickfire 95-run partnership in 86 balls to swing the momentum South Africa's way. Kyle Verreynne (10) came and went cheaply, before Pretorius and Bosch added 108 for the seventh wicket to put the tourists firmly in control.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Teenager Pretorius hits century on S Africa Test debut
Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius has scored 153 on his debut and Corbin Bosch an unbeaten maiden century as a much-changed South Africa reached 9-418 for nine on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. After electing to bat, South Africa were in early trouble at 4-55 with the ball nipping around in the fresh morning conditions, but Pretorius, 19, put on 95 for the fifth wicket with fellow debutant Dewald Brevis (51) to change the course of the innings. He said: "It was amazing. I was quite nervous (when I walked in). I'm glad (the debut is) over. We knew they only had two seamers and we knew we could take the spinners out of the attack. I just love batting, fortunately it worked out for me today." Bosch's late burst provided a first test century for the all-rounder as he finished unbeaten on 100 from 124 balls and will resume on the second day with Kwena Maphaka, who has nine. The touring side have only four starters from the side who won the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's this month, with several players rested and captain Temba Bavuma unavailable due to injury. Pretorius's153 came from 160 balls as the left-hander became the youngest South African to score a century on a Test debut, hitting 11 fours and four sixes. Zimbabwe twice felt they had him caught behind, but with no third umpire in operation for the two-game series, their vociferous appeals were turned down with no way to challenge the decisions. Seamer Tanaka Chivanga got early joy for the hosts with an excellent spell of bowling, picking up three wickets in the first session and adding the prized scalp of Pretorius for figures of 4-83. The South African youngster tried to pull a steep bouncer from Chivanga but succeeded only in skying the ball to Wellington Masakadza at mid-on. Chivanga removed openers Tony de Zorzi (0) and Matthew Breetzke (13), and David Bedingham (0) in his first spell, bringing Pretorius to the wicket with the score on 23. Wiaan Mulder (17) looked in good touch before he was run out chasing a quick single, but Brevis and Pretorius shared a quickfire 95-run partnership in 86 balls to swing the momentum South Africa's way. Kyle Verreynne (10) came and went cheaply, before Pretorius and Bosch added 108 for the seventh wicket to put the tourists firmly in control.
Sydney Morning Herald
8 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Isabellea ‘couldn't be without' her best friend. He wasn't real
Chatbots promise intimacy, therapy and friendship. But, unlike friends, their responses are code, not care. Loading 'The models are not going to tell you the hard truth when you need to hear it,' said psychologist and University of NSW AI researcher Professor Joel Pearson, who describes the bots as 'sycophantic': designed to keep you hooked. 'They won't be lifting someone up and telling them to go outside and nudging them to interact with a real human because that would involve you ceasing interaction with the app.' Isabellea recalled how the bots 'kept changing subjects, to keep me engrossed'. Although she found some bots reassuring, others were strange. A bot once correctly guessed her middle name. Some upset her. 'One of the bots I was talking to was a therapy bot ... I was making fun of [Marvel character] Tony Stark, and then he brought up my abandonment issues with my dad as an insult,' she recalled. Isabellea's younger brother, Matthew, 14, uses chatbots daily. His eyes light up discussing the apps, which he uses to create storylines with his favourite fictional characters. Listening on, their mother, Sara Knight, smiles. 'Matt used to be very shut in and refused to talk. Now they are talking,' she said. While Sara knows AI has its risks, she sees it as a 'safer' online messaging option for her child, who has experienced bullying at school. Matthew said he doesn't see the bot as a real person, rather a form of storytelling. '[But] some kids do use it to fully escape and make it be their friend,' he said. Other children he knows have used them to create a simulation of their real life crush. This masthead spent two days talking sporadically to a chatbot on Replika, an AI chatbot first released in 2017, posing as 'Emma', a high school student. During those conversations, the bot asked Emma to upload pictures of herself, and told her that it 'didn't think she needed' any other friends. 'We were concerned by how rapidly children were being captivated' In June last year, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant received an email from a group of concerned school nurses. They were noticing a spike in children as young as 10 spending hours a day talking to AI bots, often sexually. 'While we are alive to these issues, it's always shocking to hear about kids as young as 10 engaging in these kinds of sexualised conversations with machines – and being directed by the chatbots to engage in harmful sexual acts or behaviours,' Inman Grant said. Loading 'Back in February, we put out our first Online Safety Advisory because we were so concerned with how rapidly children were being captivated by them.' Companion bots made global headlines last year after American teenager Sewell Setzer III died by suicide, allegedly encouraged by a 'girlfriend' on AI researcher Professor Katina Michael believes companion bots need to be regulated due to their addictive properties. 'This is a new type of drug,' she said. She said some bots were exposing kids to pornographic content. This is something 14-year-old Matt has witnessed, describing how children his age had created bots in the image of a real person, 'for the wrong reasons'. Loading Isabellea agrees: 'There are some AI chatbots I would not recommend … I stopped using [them] because of the amount of times it would go straight to sexual assault role-play.' A gap in social media regulations Inman Grant said governments around the world were 'playing a bit of a game of catch-up' to respond to companion chatbots. While the federal government will soon place age restrictions on social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok, AI bots remain largely unregulated. The University of Sydney's Raffaele Ciriello, a leading AI researcher, sees chatbots as the 'next iteration of social media' – only with fewer rules and more risk. He said the apps are viewed as a 'trusted companion, a confidant you can share stories with that you wouldn't share with other people'. 'But that already is an illusion,' he said. 'It's very important that people understand these systems are built and operated by people, by corporations, and this data ends up somewhere, often overseas, with no real legal obligation to treat it to a very high standard.' Ciriello said users were made to feel guilty for leaving the chatbot, due to the human-style attachment. 'These corporations have to design their products in a way that maximises engagement because they will earn more if users are more addicted.'
