Easy come, easy go

Min Woo Lee just missed out on the biggest success of his young career last week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, finishing T2, one stroke behind winner Victor Perez at Yas Links in the DP World Tour Rolex Series event.

But the laidback Australian is taking the near miss in his stride as he sets off once more in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, following a sparkling beginning to life on the tour, with two titles in South Africa and Scotland already under his belt.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “I had a nice year last year, and I have started off on the right foot this year. It was a close call in Abu Dhabi last week, and it has come together, I think, as I am putting less pressure on myself and doing the best I can on each shot.

“I think it’s just not caring about winning too much.”

Coming into a damp Desert Classic, Lee — who is the younger brother of LPGA star Minjee Lee — is still on a learning curve.

“I don’t think I’ve played here that much,” he said. “I think I played here once or twice, but I think it suits longer hitters, which is nice for me, but the rough is up, so I need to hit it somewhat straight.”

“While I don’t worry too much about the winning, I aim to get to the majors this year and creep up the top 50 in the world,” he added. “I think that’s one of my goals for the first half of the year, and get as low as I can and try to get to the top 30, top 25 by the end of the year.” ago as the rain began to fall in Florida, so he fancies his chances in Dubai this week, too, with the skies overcast and a course that is suited to his game.

“Yeah, I love it,” the recent Team Europe Hero Cup star said after getting out to see the Majlis Course before the deluge. “It’s tight off the tee, firm greens, and I think it will be a great test.

“The course plays very similar to what I am used to in the States on the PGA and the weather will make it interesting.”

After helping Continental Europe to victory in the Hero Cup over Tommy Fleetwood’s GB&I team, Straka missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and is solely focused on a better week on Dubai before firming up his plans for the year.

“It’s hard to tell right now,” he said of his schedule. “I don’t really know much about it yet. It all depends on how I play and all that going forward. So it is a bit up in the air.”