Kiwi Lee in mix for a second PGA title
Danny Lee is in the mix for his second career PGA Tour title.
Lee was tied for the lead through two rounds of the Dean & Deluca Invitational, after shooting the best round of the day to rocket up the leaderboard.
Three birdies on his last three holes saw Lee sign for a six-under 64, to move to six-under for the tournament and a share of the lead alongside a trio of Americans.
The round continues a strong patch of form for Lee, who recorded a top 15 at the Zurich Classic a month ago, and bettered it last week with a fifth place finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Now, he sits in front of a slew of big names as he looks to add to the 2015 Greenbrier Classic in his trophy cabinet.
“I played great today — my ballstriking was on point and I wasn’t feeling worried about one single shot out there — I felt like I could pull off any shot,” Lee said.
Lee rolled in 94 feet of birdie putts as part of his seven-birdie round, the best of the day being a 27-footer on the 18th to put him on top of the leaderboard.
“My putting stats have been getting better, starting from a couple of months ago. Besides missing a threefooter birdie putt on number two, everything else was good,” said Lee, who ranks 67th on the Tour in putts per round.
The top of the leaderboard is congested by several notable names. Kevin Kisner, Scott Piercy and former major winner Webb Simpson are alongside Lee at six-under, but the big threats for the title sit just further back.
Paul Casey, Masters champion Sergio Garcia and young star Jon Rahm are just one shot off the pace, while Jordan Spieth lurks at twounder.
For his part, Lee is excited to get back with a chance to win on the weekend.
“I haven’t been in contention for so long, I felt like my game had just gone away for a while. I had a great finish last week, that kind of gave me the motivation to carry the great rounds over.”
Elsewhere, fellow Kiwi Ryan Fox missed the cut by four shots at the prestigious BMW Championship on the European Tour.