Min Woo Lee Fires Career-Low 62 to Lead Tour Championship

By Staff Writer

August 28, 2026

2 min read

LoopGolf

Key takeaways

Min Woo Lee shot a bogey-free 8-under 62, tying his PGA Tour career low, to lead the Tour Championship by two strokes.
Lee switched to a heavier True Temper Dynamic Gold S-400 shaft on the Tuesday before the tournament after a blind test.
Viktor Hovland shot 6-under 64 and sits tied for second, gaining more than three strokes on the greens.
The Tour Championship's 30-man field is playing for a $10 million winner's share and the FedEx Cup.
J.J. Spaun, Lee's playing partner, withdrew from the group during the round with a shoulder injury.

Min Woo Lee opened his Tour Championship debut with a bogey-free 8-under 62 at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday, tying his career-low round on the PGA Tour and taking a two-stroke lead over Viktor Hovland in the FedEx Cup finale.

How did Min Woo Lee shoot 62 at East Lake?

Lee made eight birdies and ranked second in the field in strokes gained: approach, sinking 132 feet of putts along the way. The round capped a turnaround from a rough stretch of iron play that Lee called the worst of his season during the first two FedEx Cup Playoff events.

Looking for a fix ahead of East Lake, Lee blind-tested three different shafts on the Tuesday before the tournament and settled on a heavier True Temper Dynamic Gold S-400, following a suggestion from his coach to slow his swing down. "I just needed a change, and it was great," Lee said.

How did Viktor Hovland respond in the chase group?

Hovland carded a 6-under 64, highlighted by three 12-foot birdie putts and a 28-footer at the seventh, to sit tied for second overall. He gained more than three strokes on the greens, the second-best putting performance in the field, despite a three-putt bogey at 17 after running his first putt 10 feet past the hole.

Hovland switched coaches back to Joe Mayo at the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and hit 11 of 14 fairways in the opening round. "I made a lot of really nice putts to keep momentum going," he said.

Player	Round 1 Score	To Par	Notable Stat
Min Woo Lee	62	-8	2nd in SG: Approach, 132 ft of putts made
Viktor Hovland	64	-6	2nd in SG: Putting, 142 ft of putts made

A shaft change made two days before the tournament turned into the best round of Min Woo Lee's PGA Tour career.

Lee's group got smaller partway through the round when playing partner J.J. Spaun withdrew because of a right shoulder injury. Lee called the moment "unsettling" before settling into his own rhythm, carding back-to-back birdies three separate times over his round.