Lee stands tall amid PGA champions
Danny Lee is tied for third after the opening round of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
The Kiwi No 1 golfer shot a six-under 67 to join Brandt Snedeker and JB Holmes in third place after the opening round at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
Lee did have the joint clubhouse lead when he left the 18th green, but with Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed still on course, that would soon go.
Spieth and Reed sat on six-under heading into the 18th hole which Reed eagled after sinking a 16-foot putt. It completed a six-hole run where Reed went six-under par, with four birdies and the eagle, sending him eight-under for the tournament.
World No 1 Spieth wasn’t so bad himself, nailing a five-footer for birdie to go outright second on seven-under par in the first PGA Tour event of the year, which features only tournament winners from the 2014-15 season.
Lee, who qualified courtesy of his breakthrough win at the Greenbrier Classic in July, started strongly, shooting a three-under 33 on the opening nine holes. He fired birdies on the par-four third to get his day started, then shot fours on both par-five holes.
His third birdie, on nine, began a run of three straight birdies. Lee’s shot of the day came on the par-four 10th, knocking his second shot from 101 yards to within three feet of the pin.
On the par-three 11th, Lee guided home a 15-foot putt to move five-under.
Lee missed a five-foot putt on the 15th which could have given him the joint lead at six-under, but he made up for that at 18.
Playing the 663 yard par-five last, Lee hit a beautiful third into the green, rolling the ball within three feet of the pin for an easy tap-in for birdie.
‘‘You’ve just got to place your ball well on the second shot, and I did that today,’’ Lee said after his round.
‘‘I think I’m hitting it better, hitting it a little bit further as well. I’m very excited to be here.’’
Lee also said his short game has improved since his win at the Greenbrier Classic, which was evident in Hawaii.
Scores from the US PGA Tour Tournament of Champions at the par-73 course on Thursday in Kapalua, Hawaii -8 Patrick Reed (US) -7 Jordan Spieth (US) -6 Brandt Snedeker (US) J B Holmes (US) Danny Lee (New Zealand) -5 Fabian Gomez (Argentina) -4 Brooks Koepka (US) Bubba Watson (US) Kevin Kisner (US) Steven Bowditch (Australia) Rickie Fowler (US)