Lee settles for second

Kiwi golfer Danny Lee finished second in the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, one shot adrift of United States Ryder Cup player Matt Kuchar.

Lee, who last month became a father, started the final round yesterday tied third five shots adrift of Kuchar, then fired a sixunder-par 65 to close to within a shot after 16 holes.

Kuchar, chasing his first win since 2014, seemed to be cruising to victory until he had back-toback bogeys on 14 and 15.

When he left his birdie putt on 16 an inch short, Lee had a chance to level the scores with a birdie on the final hole.

From the 18th fairway Lee put his approach shot 15 feet below the hole, giving him a good look at birdie, but a misread meant his putt to tie the lead never troubled the hole.

In the following group, Kuchar left himself a knee-knocker to finish the tournament, after leaving his birdie putt well short. He made no mistake.

Lee finished with seven birdies, four on the front, with three birdies and a bogey coming in. He was two shots clear of third-placed American pair JJ Spaun and Richy Werenski.

‘‘Really I had no mindset or no game plan,’’ Lee said of his approach coming into the final day so far back of Kuchar.

‘‘I’ve been hitting it good all week and I knew if I just putted half-decent I was going to have a chance or get very close. But I didn’t know what Matt was going to do, or the other players were going to do.’’