Lee Seung-min "Becomes Inaugural Champion of Disabled US Open"… ‘I am Golfer Woo Young-woo’

1st US Adaptive Open Overtime Victory, Korean Tour Full Member with Autism Spectrum Disorder 'Human Triumph', Advances to Pro Tournament Main Round "Ultimate Dream is Masters Participation"

Lee Seung-min is smiling while holding the trophy immediately after winning the 1st US Adaptive Open. Photo by USGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] The drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," airing on the ENA channel, is gaining popularity.

It is an inspiring story about an attorney with autism spectrum disorder who solves various problems. After just seven episodes since its first broadcast, the viewership rating soared to 11.7%. Woo Young-woo has also appeared in the golf world. The protagonist is Lee Seung-min (25), a professional golfer with autism spectrum developmental disorder. On the 21st (Korean time), he was crowned the inaugural champion at the 1st US Adaptive Open (Disabled US Open) held at the Pinehurst Resort No. 6 Course (Par 72) in North Carolina, USA.

In the final third round, Lee Seung-min recorded four birdies and three bogeys to tie with Felix Norman (Sweden, developmental disability) at 3-under-par 213, then won the championship trophy after a playoff. In the playoff, conducted over two holes (17th and 18th) combined, Lee Seung-min scored birdie-par, beating Norman who scored par-bogey by two strokes. This is Lee Seung-min’s second official tournament victory, following the team event at the National Sports Festival during his time at Anyang Sinseong High School. It is his first individual win.

"I am so happy," said Lee Seung-min. "It feels like a dream," he added, "During the round, I repeated to myself six times, 'I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.'" He also smiled, saying, "I had a great time with good players," and "Being doused with celebratory water in the hot weather felt refreshing." He continued, "I will continue to compete on the Korean Tour after returning to Korea," and shared his dream, "I want to play in the Masters and compete through the final round."

Lee Seung-min was diagnosed with congenital autism spectrum developmental disorder around the age of two. He started playing golf while living in the United States with his diplomat father. At first, he was afraid to make eye contact and talk with strangers. He began playing ice hockey at a special school in the U.S., but frequent injuries during group activities with non-disabled peers led him to focus on golf from the first year of middle school. He liked watching the ball fly and worked hard toward his dream of becoming a professional golfer.

In 2014, when he was a sophomore at Sinseong High School, Lee Seung-min earned semi-professional golfer status. In 2017, after five attempts, he became the first player with developmental disabilities to pass the Korean Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Korean Tour first division qualifying tournament and obtained full membership. Through playing golf, his social skills improved, and his developmental disability grade was eased from level 2 to level 3. His language skills also improved remarkably.

In 2018, he advanced to the main round of the DB Insurance Pro-Am Open and received prize money for the first time. This year, he participated in the 64-player round of the Descente Korea Munsingwear Match Play in May and finished tied for 44th at the SK Telecom Open. Lee Seung-min’s mother, Park Ji-ae (56), expressed gratitude, saying, "He was invited to several professional tournaments, gaining experience with weather, difficult courses, and situations on big stages, which helped him grow a lot," and added, "Based on those experiences, he was able to play steadily without wavering."

Park said, "Interest in people with autism spectrum disorder has increased due to the drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo,'" and added, "I understand that there are actually attorneys with autism spectrum disorder in the U.S. I hope many people see Seung-min and realize that people with autism spectrum disorder can adapt well to the real world." Lee Seung-min plans to return to Korea on the 23rd and continue to challenge the KPGA Srixon (second division) Tour qualifiers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.