Quitting Smoking, Waking at 6 AM, Sleeping at 10 PM... The Secret to Lee Soo-min's Victory: 'Choi Kyung-ju Style Management'

Lee Soo-min is teeing off at the 6th hole of the 4th round of the Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational.
[Photo by KPGA]

The secret to Lee Soo-min's health, who won the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Choi Kyung-ju Invitational held at Ferrum Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province on the 6th, is becoming a hot topic.

According to Yonhap News Agency, "On this day, Lee Soo-min quit smoking and lived a disciplined life to claim a KPGA victory for the first time in four years." Yonhap reported that Lee Soo-min, who was discharged and returned in October 2022, had poor performance from last season through the first half of this year. While serving as a social service agent, he gained weight and lacked mental strength.

The start of his "disciplined life" was quitting smoking. Lee Soo-min, who had been a heavy smoker for a long time, quit smoking. His daily routine began with waking up at 6 a.m. every morning and starting the day with light jogging, going to bed before 10 p.m., and limiting his use of his mobile phone. His role model was Choi Kyung-ju. Choi won the SK Telecom Open in May at the age of 54. Choi is very strict with self-management: he avoids alcohol, carbonated drinks, and coffee, and does stretching and massages for more than 40 minutes every morning. After learning about this, Lee Soo-min decided to adhere to the basics of being an athlete.

He also strengthened his mental toughness. He said, "After being discharged, no matter how hard I practiced, my results did not improve, and in my impatience, I practiced even more, but the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment." He added, "I decided to focus on the basics as an athlete rather than just practice and lowered my expectations." He also expressed gratitude to his wife, who is three years older than him, saying, "I have been unhelpful with childcare and complained a lot, but I am thankful to her."

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