WA pros on tour: Min Woo earns Major bonus as Rudgeley shines in Florida

22nd May 2023

Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee has secured Special Temporary Membership of the PGA Tour after his top-20 finish at the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

Lee, the 24-year-old Royal Fremantle golfer, finished the season’s second Major on +2 for the championship in T18th – 11 strokes behind winner Brooks Koepka.

As well as earning him a pay cheque in the region of AU$320,000, Lee has amassed sufficient Fedex Cup points to earn temporary membership to the world’s biggest tour.

This means he is eligible to receive unlimited sponsor’s invites to compete in events for the rest of the season, as opposed to the maximum of seven events non-members can receive – making it highly likely he will earn sufficient ranking points to earn full playing rights on the PGA Tour for the 2023-24 season.

Rudgeley finding her feet on LET

Elsewhere in the US, WA’s Kirsten Rudgeley continued her steady start to life on the Ladies’ European Tour (LET) with a top-10 finish in the Aramco Team Series event in Florida.

The Mount Lawley golfer closed with a round of three-under 69 at Trump International in West Palm Beach to finish in T10th at +4 for the championship – six shots adrift of winner Carlota Ciganda.

Kirsten Rudgeley

Kirsten Rudgeley continues to transition well into the pro ranks

 

It was Rudgeley’s third top-15 finish (and second top 10) of her fledgling LET career having earned full playing rights at Qualifying School late last year.

A former WA and Australian representative at amateur level, Rudgeley has missed just one cut from her five events in 2023, her winnings of approximately AU$16,000 in Florida taking her season’s earnings to almost $50,000.

She is currently 31st in the LET’s Race to the Costa Del Sol, which sees the top 64 players on the Order of Merit qualify for the season finale in Spain and a chance to share in the AU$975,000 prize purse.


Image credits: Australian Golf Media/Ladies European Tour

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