Why Does Min Woo Lee Say 'Let Him Cook'?

The PGA Tour star has a popular catchphrase, but what are its origins?

Min Woo Lee takes a shot during The Players Championship
Min Woo Lee's catchphrase is 'let him cook'
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Min Woo Lee is one of the PGA Tour’s rising stars, with his booming drives and incredible short game hallmarks of his early success on the circuit. However, he is also well-known for his viral catchphrase “let him cook,” but where did it come from?

Away from the course, Lee has also demonstrated remarkable mastery of social media, with his Instagram followers alone approaching 700,000. It was on that platform - and others - where, in 2023, Lee began frequently using the phrase.

But how did Lee come about it? He explained the origins to Australian Golf Digest’s Evin Priest, telling him it comes from gaming culture. He said: “’Let him cook’ is usually said when you’re playing COD [Call of Duty] in a five-vs-five-person game and one person is left. If someone’s in the background telling him what to do, someone else says, ‘No, just let him cook. Let him do his thing.”

Fans took to the catchphrase, so much so that, when Lee won the 2023 Australian PGA Championship, per Priest, fans were seen wearing “Let him cook” T-shirts – a sentiment embraced by Lee at that time when he then donned a white chef’s hat following his victory.

Min Woo Lee after the Australian PGA Championship

Lee celebrated winning the Australian PGA Championship by wearing a chef's hat

(Image credit: Getty Images)

By the time the WM Phoenix Open came around in February 2024, fans were out in force to cheer Lee on wearing red chef's hats - supplied by the apparel brand that sponsors Lee, Lululemon, and the catchphrase has continued to grow with Lee ever since.

A fan wearing a chef's hat at the Phoenix Open

Fans wore red chefs hats in honor of Lee at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Incredibly, it’s not just Lee’s catchphrase that has become wildly popular, along with nickname The Chef, which is related to his catchphrase, another viral moniker is Dr Chipinski. Per Australian Golf Digest, that’s one Lee gave to himself, and, as the nickname suggests, it’s related to his extraordinary chipping ability around the greens.

Not surprisingly, in typically confident fashion, Lee has embraced the nickname on social media, accompanied by footage of just why it is so appropriate.

Deep into the final round of the Houston Open, Lee continued to demonstrate that his career is very much on the up, holding off the likes of Rory McIlroy and Gary Woodland as he closed in on his maiden PGA Tour title, eventually beating Woodland and Scottie Scheffler by one shot.

Given that, it's surely likely we'll be hearing a lot more from him - and his famous catchphrase - in the months and years to come.

Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.