Aussie suffers all-time meltdown at Players Champs – and it cost him more than just $3m

Australian Min Woo Lee endured a heartbreaking final round at the Players Championship, carding a four-over 76 marred by two horror holes.

It saw him finish in a tie for sixth, costing him millions of dollars in prize money – as well as a life-changing temporary PGA Tour membership.

Lee began the day in second, and shared the lead for just one hole at the famous TPC Sawgrass in Florida before falling apart in an all-time meltdown. Had he finished second, he would have picked up an estimated $4.1 million AUD - three million more than the $1.1m he will likely earn with his equal-sixth finish.

American Scottie Scheffler surged to a remarkable five-shot victory and estimated $4.5m USD ($6.8m AUD) winner’s prize, and will also claim the world number one ranking.

24-year-old Lee began the final round two shots behind Scheffler, and started the final round in sublime fashion with a birdie on the par-four first hole.

When 2022 Masters champion Scheffler bogeyed the third, the duo shared the lead. But one hole later, everything changed.

The Australian found the rough off the tee on the 393-yard par-four fourth, preventing him from even laying up with his second shot. Then he found the water with his third shot as ended up carding a seven, which quickly left him three shots off the pace.

He was disgusted with his approach shot on the seventh, letting out an exasperated “oh my god!”

But he pulled off just his second birdie of the day with a clutch 28-foot putt to close to two shots behind Scheffler.

From there, Lee’s round unravelled even further. He gave back another shot the following hole after finding the bunker, before a double-bogey on the 11th as his title dream turned into a nightmare.

Lee found the trees off the tee and couldn’t escape the pines with his second shot. His third shot only found a bunker, and he ended up with a seven on the par-five.

He carded another bogey on the par-four 14th, but finally turned things around with a birdie on the 16th and the famous Island Green 17th. However, a bogey on 18th delivered one final blow.

“It happened really quick,” he said.

“It’s one of those things where it’s Sunday and you just make a couple bad decisions and it all kind of falls down.

“To make a seven there, it was pretty gut wrenching after I started really well,” he continued.

“But Scottie played really well and it was just a battle from then. I tried to get it back, but I just didn’t have my approach game,” he added.

Lee needed to finish solo fourth or better to earn a PGA Tour special temporary membership – which would allow him to accept unlimited sponsor invitations to tournaments for the remainder of the season (compared to the usual limit of 12 for non-members).

It is a crucial stepping stone to a full PGA Tour membership, with more tournament entries offering players the chance to pick up enough points to fully qualify for permanent membership.

Nevertheless, Lee’s solid weekend will still earn him a haul of FedExCup points, meaning more strong results in coming tournaments could see him pick up a special temporary membership in the weeks to come.

The winner at the Players picks up an estimated $4.5m USD ($6.8m AUD), while second place would have earned Lee $2.725m USD ($A4.1m).

But Lee’s equal sixth-placed finish earns him an estimated $736,607 USD ($A1.1m)

Those estimates are based on the top 65 players making the cut, while this year 75 players made the cut – so the payouts for the top players will be marginally lower.