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Min Woo Lee is beaming with pride after rediscovering his mojo and booking a ticket to the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational with his best finish yet at a PGA Tour event.
Lee made a spirited Monday run before settling for a tie for second behind American Austin Eckroat at the rain-marred Cognizant Classic in Florida.
The Australian was trailing by five shots when play was suspended on Sunday night before whittling Eckroat's lead down to one with an eagle and two birdies in a four-hole burst during the delayed final round.
Eckroat eventually won by three shots at 17 under after matching Lee's closing 67 at The National in the Palm Beaches.
Still, Lee's fast finish secured the 25-year-old a start at this week's Signature $US20 million ($30 million) event at Bay Hill.
He had finished outside the top 20 in his first three PGA Tour events of 2024, but has found form at just the right time ahead of the Players' Championship and next month's Masters, the first major of the season.
"It's amazing," Lee said of qualifying for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
"I was thinking about it coming down the stretch. Obviously thinking about the win, but it was a really proud moment today.
"I knew before last night that I needed to play like that."
As well as rising to a career-high number 31 in the world, Lee's performance vaulted the Perth ace from 108th to 45th in the season-long standings.
He will be among four Australians teeing it up at Bay Hill, joining former champion Jason Day, Adam Scott and Cam Davis.
Day, the Australian number one, won in 2016 before completing the Arnold Palmer Invitational-Players Championship double a fortnight later.
The former world number one has already posted three top-10s this year, while Scott is also in decent form with top-20 showings in all three of his PGA Tour starts in 2024.
AAP
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