The 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was already simmering with rules-based tension around Akshay Bhatia, who found himself defending his broomstick putting. But as Saturday’s third round reached its climax, the heat shifted to Min Woo Lee’s tempo.

Things really spiraled out of control for the Australian pro on the par-5 18th when his golf ball flew way off course and landed right in a bush across the green fairway. Rules officials talked to Lee for a long time about his unlucky play, and he finally took a penalty drop onto a hard cart path.

His next shot found a greenside bunker. And after escaping the sand, Lee was left with a near 10-meter putt to save par, with reportedly heavy winds of 30 mph seeming to move his ball on the green. And Lee was simply waiting for the ball to stop moving. The final group, which also had Sam Burns and Jacob Bridgeman, spent almost 45 minutes playing this hole, and fans began to cheer sarcastically as the minutes ticked away on the slow clock.

When he finally struck the putt, it blasted past the hole, leading to a bogey-bogey finish. A visibly fuming Lee picked up his ball and threw it into the ocean in a total meltdown after the round. Lee was far from the only victim of the gush, as players like Ryo Hisatsune, Jacob Bridgeman, and Akshay Bhatia also faced the same problem on the 18th hole.

But the fan fury ignited when PGATOUR.com Staff Writer Paul Hodowanic caught up with a frustrated Lee after the round. Hodowanic shared a video and a note of the exchange on X, where Lee attempted to explain the physical impossibility of ‘pulling the trigger’ under such duress.

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“I understand I have to hit the putt, but when the ball is fully oscillating, it’s just hard to pull the trigger. When big gusts are coming, it’s just tough. I want to; it’s just so hard to do that,” Lee told Hodowanic after the round.

Though Min Woo Lee sits in a tie for 7th place at 14-under par, trailing Akshay Bhatia (-19), fans did not like what happened on the 18th, and flooded the comment section of Hodowanic’s post with angry messages.

Fans demand penalties for Min Woo Lee after the 18th-hole standoff

Most of the fans demanded a complete disqualification for Lee for the delay. As one fan wrote, “Min Woo Lee should have been disqualified for slow play. He intentionally held up the final groups.”

If a player intentionally holds up play to gain a competitive advantage, the committee has the authority to disqualify them for ‘serious misconduct’ or breaching the spirit of the game, according to the rules (Intentional Stalling (Rule 1.2a)). But in most of the cases, it comes at the third breach after one-stroke penalties in the first two breaches. In the Amundi Evian Championship 2023, the group of Carlota Ciganda, Anna Nordqvist, and Celine Herbin was disqualified after the second round because they didn’t accept a slow-play penalty.

In Lee’s case, rules officials were present and permitted the delays due to the wind-related ball movement and the complex penalty drop situation. So no ‘bad times’ or ‘unreasonable delay’ penalties were assessed. Still, one unforgiving fan wrote, “Plenty of people will never play Pebble before they die. You get to play it yearly for millions of dollars. Play in the conditions. It’s what your fans want, @Minwoo27Lee.”

One fan even shared a tweet that has a Scottie Scheffler clip, writing, “Scottie Scheffler got asked about the weather conditions late on Sunday affecting the US Open. His answer was simple and great.” In the video, someone asked Scheffler, Any comment on the weather? And Scottie Scheffler laughed and answered back, “Outdoor sport.” Brutal way to roast! Isn’t it?

While everyone was busy criticizing Lee’s slow play, one detective fan researched the actual reason for the slow play. He connected Lee’s participation in ‘The Bay Golf Club’ in the tech-filled TGL league as the primary reason for his slow play. As the comment goes, “Got too used to playing screen golf.”

Golf is always infamous for its slow play. And taking 45 minutes for a single hole is too much. So another angry fan commented, “I was yelling at the TV. Come on, dude, step up and putt! I think he got into his own head by waiting… and blew it past.”

Some even advised Lee to watch veterans like Rickie Fowler and Scottie Scheffler. He wrote, “Notice how Rickie just went up and hit his putts no problem. These young dudes are coddled and mentally weak and can’t even hit a putt when their little routine is impacted. Outdoor sport, fade all of these dudes tomorrow.”

With a forecast calling for ‘big wind and rain’ for the final round, one sarcastic fan chimed in, “How much can I legally bet against him in the wind tomorrow?”