Min Woo Lee hopes to transfer his new-found steel to the PGA Tour following another confidence-boosting top-20 finish at a major championship.
Lee is among five Australians teeing it up at this week's Charles Schwab Challenge and plans on carrying the momentum from his tie for 18th at the PGA Championship in New York to Fort Worth, Texas.
Despite being a little bummed not to have made a Sunday charge after starting the final round tied for 10th, Lee said he was chuffed to have hung tough at the notoriously challenging Oak Hill in true major championship conditions.
Still a self-confessed work in progress, the 24-year-old hasn't always been so forgiving of himself when the going gets tough.
"The biggest thing I took away from last week was just the way I handled myself and played for the week," Lee said in a zoom call on Wednesday.
"It's obviously tough, and it's sometimes how you handle yourself after a bad shot. Everyone's going to hit bad shots in a major, so it's nice to really get into that zone.
"You just have to do it to understand it, and I feel like hopefully it can help over the next few weeks."
The mercurial talent ground out a final-round one-over-par 71 that ultimately proved crucial, with Lee's top-20 result earning the West Australian special temporary membership for the rest of the PGA Tour season.
That guarantees more starts as he looks to secure his full playing rights for next season by finishing in the top 125 on the FedEx standings.
"It was a little disappointing Sunday - I wish I played a little bit better - but it was also a really gritty round," Lee said.
"It could have gone a lot worse, and the birdie on the last helped."
In a bonus, Lee will play the first two rounds at the famed Colonial Club with golf's new people's champion Michael Block, the American club pro who captivated fans with his fairytale PGA Championship.
Block iced his spectacular tournament with a hole in one on the 15th on Sunday while playing with Rory McIlroy, then drained a magical par putt on the last to earn a ticket back next year by finishing joint 15th.
Lee goes back with Block, having played a round with the 46-year-old during his amateur days.
"It's amazing. I haven't seen him in maybe six, seven years," Lee said.
"It's crazy how we're playing with each other at a PGA Tour event this week."
Cam Davis, who rocketed home with an equal-tournament-low 65 on Sunday to tie fourth at the PGA Championship and clinch a 2024 Masters berth, Lucas Herbert, Aaron Baddeley and Harrison Endycott are the other Australians in this week's field.
Davis' best finish yet at a major championship also vaulted the 28-year-old into the world's top 50 for the first time.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, runner-up behind fellow American Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship, is the highest-ranked player and tournament favourite.
