Lee to skip last round with his pride— and wrist— wounded
Kiwi golfer Danny Lee has pulled out of the US Open following a shocking finish to his third round at the brutal Winged Foot course.
The 30-year-old followed an opening-round 70 with a five-over 75 to make it through to the weekend at the second major of the year, only for his tournament to unravel in dramatic fashion yesterday.
Lee experienced a massive meltdown on the 18th hole, sixputting from an initial distance of 1.3m to record a quintuple bogey nine.
Lee was three over for his third round when he made his way to the par-four last and left himself a fourfooter for par at the 18th, which he knocked so far past the hole that he left himself a longer putt coming back for bogey.
His next effort failed to reach the hole and his third putt — his sixth shot — then rattled nearly 2.1m past the target, with Lee’s following attempt finishing just under 1.3m from the cup.
The world No 108 saw his eighth shot go further past the target than any of his previous efforts, before eventually holing from 2.25m — the longest putt of the lot — to finish his round with a quintuple-bogey nine.
The six-putt saw Lee close out an eight-over 78.
According to Golfweek, Lee withdrew due to a wrist injury.
Lee last withdrew from a tournament in 2017, when he pulled out of the BMW Championship near Chicago after just two holes citing a lower-back complaint following a birdie and a bogey.
On Saturday, fellow Kiwi Ryan Fox missed the cut after carding a 15-over 85 in his second round.
■ Matthew Wolff might be too young to realise he’s supposed to hit fairways to have a chance to win the U.S. Open. Or maybe he’s so good it doesn’t matter.
Wolff hit only two fairways yesterday and still matched the lowest score ever at Winged Foot in a major, a 5-under 65 that gave the 21-year-old Californian a two-shot lead over Bryson Dechambeau going into today’s final round.
Whether it was the first cut or the nasty rough, Wolff kept giving those hips one last swivel before blasting away and giving himself birdie chances. He made enough of them to seize control, and then let so many others crumble.
Patrick Reed, tied for the lead at the turn, couldn’t find the fairway and paid dearly with a 43 on the back nine. Reed had a three-shot lead after two holes. He walked off the 18th green with a 77 and was eight shots behind.
Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship last month in his first try at age 23. Wolff is playing his first US Open at age 21. Is he next?
“I’m probably going to be a little antsy. It’s the U.S. Open, and I have a lead,” Wolff said. “I’m going to try to keep my nerves as calm as they can be. I put myself in a really good spot. I did everything that I could do up until this point, and I’m going to go out there, I promise you I’m going to try my best.”
The US Open began with 21 players under par. There were six going into the weekend. Now it’s down to three, with Louis Oosthuizen efficiently putting together a 68 to finish at 1-under 209.
Hideki Matsuyama (70), Xander Schauffele (70) andharris English (72) were at even-par 210. Another shot back was Rory Mcilroy. — AP